Its very name can send a cold shiver down the skin of the most seasoned Canadian. The polar vortex is a mainstay of winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere, but it grew its terrifying legend during the brutal cold of 2014.
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A polar vortex is a large-scale circulation that wraps around the Arctic Circle for the entire year. This circulation, which extends from the surface to the stratosphere, can become very strong in the winter and weakens tremendously during the summer months.
Now that the days are getting shorter as the sun’s rays slide farther and farther into the southern hemisphere, the polar vortex is beginning its annual trend of strengthening amid the increasing cold in the Arctic.
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This ever-present circulation is a critical factor in our fall and winter weather because it usually acts as a barrier that keeps colder winter air confined to the far northern latitudes.
However, it doesn’t always work out that way. Great freezes in North America, Europe and Asia are often dictated by the vagaries of the polar vortex.
It seems paradoxical, but a stronger polar vortex correlates with a milder winter for people at lower latitudes, while a weaker polar vortex is bad news if you’re not a fan of cold weather.
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If there’s a significant disturbance in that circulation, say, for example, a strong low-pressure system throws it off balance — the entire circulation itself can break up and become wavy.
These troughs, or lobes, of the polar vortex then drop toward lower latitudes, allowing blindingly cold air to follow the trough and spill south.
Sometimes, a circulation lobe will break completely and become a persistent, upper-level low. These lows can linger around an area for days or even weeks at a time, making them responsible for some of the most brutal temperatures we can experience outside of the Arctic.
