THE POLAR VORTEX HAS BECOME PART OF THE NATION'S VOCABULARY OVER THE LAST YEAR, BUT ITS NOT NEW TO METEOROLOGISTS, NOR IS IT UNUSUAL. THE POLAR VORTEX IS A POCKET OF EXCEPTIONALLY COLD AIR THAT EXTENDS FROM THE SURFACE INTO THE MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE.SURROUNDED BY THE ARCTIC JETSTREAM, THE POLAR VORTEX GETS WEAKER IN THE SUMMER, AND STRONGER IN THE WINTER. SOMETIMES, THE POLAR VORTEX CAN GET KNOCKED SOUTH, AND A PIECE CAN DROP INTO CANADA. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR.VERY RARELY DOES THE CORE OF THE POLAR VORTEX MAKE IT INTO THE LOWER 48, BUT IT DOES SOMETIMES GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO CAUSE UNUSUALLY COLD TEMPERATURES AS FAR SOUTH AS OUR OWN BACKYARDS! THE BOTTOM LINE IS: NOT EVERY COLD SNAP WE SEE IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE POLAR VORTEX, BUT IT DOES FACTOR INTO THE OVERALL WINTER FORECAST!
By -Meteorologist Matt Moore
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