Baby, It’s REALLY Cold Outside: The Polar Vortex

Photo of a Chicago Deep freeze by Pilot Hank Cain

This January, Americans in at least two dozen states have been shivering for a couple of weeks brought about by a distorted polar vortex. The cold air it is sending southward is said to be the biggest visitor from the North Pole since Santa Claus. The gifts it brings, however, are too cold and completely unwelcome. Until today, much of the United States suffers from record low temperatures.

What really is this polar vortex that everyone seems to be talking about? A polar vortex is a strong area of low pressure around the Arctic that is composed of a circulation of strong, upper-level winds. These winds tend to keep intensely cold air locked in the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere but occasionally, counterclockwise winds around it become distorted and push waves of bitter cold air into the USA. 

The distortion leading to a massive winter storm on Jan. 2

This distortion of the vortex is something normal and occurs naturally. However, it never happened with this intensity. This is why the possibility of this current phenomenon as a side effect of global warming has become a hot research topic. 

According to CNN International senior meteorologist Brandon Miller, some research shows that it could be possible. Different types of extreme weather are consequences from the overall warming of the planet, melting of the Arctic Sea ice, etc. and this includes extreme distortions of the jet stream, which can cause heat waves in summer and cold outbreaks in winter.

Now a polar vortex can only lead to major cold outbreaks in countries in the Northern Hemisphere such as North America, Europe, and Asia, so the Philippines will never really be greatly affected by this. However, this occurrence is a call for all of us to be responsible citizens and to strive to alleviate global warming. These extreme weather conditions pose a great risk to the lives of our fellow men and we must start living green now.

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This blog entry was written in response to the collection of photographs of the first major winter storm of 2014 found on NYDailynews.com

Webpage: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/winter-storm-hercules-pummels-major-u-s-cities-gallery-1.1564642?pmSlide=1.1567000

Works Cited:

-       Roston, Eric. "Why Is It So Cold? The Polar Vortex, Explained." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 08 Jan. 2014. Web. 09 Jan. 2014.

-    Duke, Alan. "Frigid Air from the North Pole: What's This Polar Vortex?" CNN. Cable News Network, 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.

-         Rice, Doyle. "What Is the Polar Vortex?" USA Today. Gannett, 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.

Image Sources:

-         http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/01/polar-vortex-2014-photos-of-a-chicago-deep-freeze/

-         http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-07/why-is-it-so-cold-the-polar-vortex-explained.html

Posted By: Aitana Kaw