"Temperatures in the next 24 hours are set to hit record lows"
Polar vortex blasts US with life-threatening cold
Warming shelters open in midwest as Chicago area sees temperatures drop to -50F (-46C), with snow possible in southern stateswww.theguardian.com/...
(FROM huffingtonpost.com):
"Why is it affecting the US?
Occasionally, the vortex can become distorted and meander far further south than normal. The phenomenon became widely known to Americans during a particularly frigid spell in 2014, when the media first started using the term “polar vortex”. It was also a factor in the “bomb cyclone” that battered the US east coast last year.
This time, the polar vortex has broken in two, bringing the coldest conditions in decades to the midwest US. On Wednesday, Chicago was 10 degrees F colder than Antarctica."
www.theguardian.com/...
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The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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"Wind chill in northern Illinois
could fall to -55F"
Life at -58F: I went inside the frozen heart of America's polar vortex
In this little city of 6,000 people, people are carrying on as usual, using a few tricks they’ve learned from a lifetime of frigid temperatures
www.theguardian.com/...
"Polar vortex: what is it and how is it linked to climate change?"
www.theguardian.com/…
"Is this weather event linked to climate change?
Studies have pointed to a recent increase in instances where the polar vortex has bulged down into heavily populated areas. Scientists are gaining a better understanding of why this is happening, with many identifying climate change as an influence.
There’s some evidence that the jet stream, a meandering air current that flows over North America and Europe, is slowing and becoming wavier as the planet warms. The jet stream interacts with the polar vortex, helping bring numbing temperatures further south."www.theguardian.com/...
PBS video:
.Why the Midwest’s deep freeze may be a consequence of climate change
www.pbs.org/...
.Studies have shown that a warming Arctic is shifting the jet stream, and playing a critical role in the changes that are causing the polar vortex to become more common in the UStruthout.org/…
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Extreme Weather Is Already Breaking Records Around The World In 2019
Temperatures dipped to -38 degrees in Minnesota as Australia battled a heat wave that topped 115 degrees.www.huffingtonpost.com/...
NOAA:
The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles. It ALWAYS exists near the poles, but weakens in summer and strengthens in winter. The term "vortex" refers to the counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the Poles. Many times during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream (see graphic above). This occurs fairly regularly during wintertime and is often associated with large outbreaks of Arctic air in the United States. The one that occurred January 2014 is similar to many other cold outbreaks that have occurred in the past, including several notable colder outbreaks in 1977, 1982, 1985 and 1989.
There are several things the polar vortex is NOT. Polar vortexes are not something new. The term “polar vortex” has only recently been popularized, bringing attention to a weather feature that has always been present. It is also not a feature that exists at the Earth’s surface. Weather forecasters examine the polar vortex by looking at conditions tens of thousands of feet up in the atmosphere; however, when we feel extremely cold air from the Arctic regions at Earth’s surface, it is sometimes associated with the polar vortex. This is not confined to the United States. Portions of Europe and Asia also experience cold surges connected to the polar vortex. By itself, the only danger to humans is the magnitude of how cold temperatures will get when the polar vortex expands, sending Arctic air southward into areas that are not typically that cold.www.weather.gov/...
Polar vortex: Chicago set for coldest day ever recorded
Actually, there are two polar vortices in the Northern Hemisphere, stacked on top of each other. The lower one is usually and more accurately called the jet stream. It’s a meandering river of strong westerly winds around the Northern Hemisphere, about seven miles above Earth’s surface, near the height where jets fly.
The jet stream exists all year, and is responsible for creating and steering the high- and low-pressure systems that bring us our day-to-day weather: storms and blue skies, warm and cold spells. Way above the jet stream, around 30 miles above the Earth, is the stratospheric polar vortex. This river of wind also rings the North Pole, but only forms during winter, and is usually fairly circular.
Thanks for reading;
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Links
Americans’ climate change concerns surge to record levels, poll shows
Total of 72% polled now say global warming is personally important to them, Yale said, as 73% accept it is happening
www.theguardian.com/…
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