Weather analysts are divided over the polar vortex’s influence on weather and what that means for the rest of this year’s winter. The polar vortex is an area of low pressure and cold air that ...

Map shows polar vortex will grip Rockies and northern Plains with temperatures set to plunge to -42.7 degrees Celsius (Picture: NOAA/National Weather Service) ...

A polar vortex collapse could bring cold weather to the UK later this month, the Met Office has warned. The weather forecaster said there is a 70% chance of a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW ...

One way to track the polar vortex is through potential vorticity, which describes the amount of rotational energy, or "spin," in a parcel of air. This animation shows daily potential vorticity in ...

Polar Vortex forecast from March 6 to March 20, 2025. (source: Judah Cohen, AER) Judah Cohen The stratosphere actually warms an incredible amount in a short time during these SSW’s.

These polar vortex stretches are happening more frequently as the world — and especially the Arctic — warms, a 2021 paper published in the journal Science, also co-authored by Cohen, demonstrated.

However, a disruption in the vortex – known as "sudden stratospheric warming" – back in mid-March will finally be making its way down to the surface in the eastern U.S. next week, Cohen said.

The polar vortex has taken on an unexpected pattern this winter - one that’s made part of the United States the most unusually cold place on the planet, at least so far this year.

The cold is part of a polar vortex that has plunged large swaths of the country into Arctic weather and “ life-threatening cold.” It’s the 10th and coldest polar vortex so far this season.