Did the Polar Vortex Cause the US Arctic Blast That Brought Snow to Florida?
“Polar vortex” sounds cool. It’s like a “bomb tornado” or a “flame”. This appears to be the phenomenon causing record-breaking cold, snow and wintry weather to sweep across the Gulf Coast this week. The polar vortex is real, but it may not be the cause of extreme cold in normally warm parts of the country.
Unusual winter storms and frigid temperatures hit much of the United States from Texas to Florida. The snow and cold caused flight cancellations and school, business and road closures. First published by the National Weather Service blizzard warning January 21 in parts of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Snow reportedly hits Houston Up to 6 inches.
NOAA’s Goes-East satellite captured views of the historic winter storm in the southern United States on January 21.
The NWS Mobile, Alabama office released a Official snowfall measurement On Tuesday afternoon, 5.4 inches of snow fell, breaking the previous single-day snowfall record set in 1881 by 5 inches. The snowfall continued, with 7.5 inches of snow falling that day. this NWS Social Media Team Description The total was “crazy.” Similar snowfall was reported near Pensacola, Florida. It’s natural for people to look north to the frigid Arctic for answers as to why polar bears along the Gulf Coast are stuck in such frigid weather.
What is a polar vortex?
Under certain conditions, the polar vortex can push cold air into the United States along with the jet stream.
As the name suggests, the polar vortex is associated with the Earth’s North and South Poles. This is an area with lower air pressure and cooler air at the poles.
“Weather forecasters check for polar vortices by looking at atmospheric conditions tens of thousands of feet up; however, when we feel extremely cold air from the Arctic regions at the Earth’s surface, it is sometimes associated with the polar vortex,” National Weather Service says in the interpreter.
The polar vortex may be linked to extreme cold in the United States, but the conditions have to be right. The polar vortex can expand and push southward on the jet stream, a narrow stream of air that flows high in the atmosphere from west to east. It is worth noting that a Polar vortex hits the United States in 2019launches a series of chilling Star Wars Hoth jokes.
Does the polar vortex cause the cold?
The Arctic blast that left Gulf Coast residents shivering this week isn’t necessarily an example of a polar vortex attack.
Amy Butler and Laura Ciasto of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration run a polar vortex blog on NOAA’s Climate.gov website. scientists Checked out the polar vortex last week Before the Arctic explosion. At that time, Butler and Chasto discovered some potential stretching of the polar vortex. But there’s another factor at play.
“In addition, a strong ridge of high pressure developed simultaneously near Alaska, which also helped force the jet stream southward over the continental United States and bring arctic cold air independent of the polar vortex,” Butler and Chasto wrote.
one NOAA video Shows what the ridge looks like:
Cold Arctic air hovering over Alaska swoops south.
“I think the ridges over Alaska played a bigger role in the cold air burst,” Siasto told CNET. “The stratospheric polar vortex is not as stretched as it was last week, so the connection we noted in our previous article It doesn’t matter that much anymore.”
Erica Grow Cei, a public affairs specialist and meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that while the Gulf Coast experienced a cold snap, Alaska experienced high pressure and mild temperatures.
“This in turn displaces the Arctic air that normally sits over our northernmost states this time of year, and the Arctic air flows downstream — to the southeast — toward the continental United States,” Grow Cei told CNET.
The polar vortex may be a powerful source of winter weather, but it’s not the only cause of freezing temperatures and snowfall in a region known for warmth and sunshine. Gulf Coast states are still digging out snowpack, but temperatures will be warmer through the weekend at least.
