Polar Vortex to Bring Bone-Chilling Cold to Much of Nation This Winter, Scientists Warn

. . .North Carolina, which doesn’t see much snow, got 20 inches last week, leaving two dead and thousands without power. While the Old Farmer’s Almanac offers some good news in a forecast predicting an El Niño will bring warmer temperatures across most of North America this winter, some scientists are saying just the opposite. . .

Judah Cohen, a researcher from Atmospheric and Environmental Research, says a polar vortex will blast across the East Coast later this month and into January, bringing lots of snow and bone-chilling temperatures, The Washington Post reported.

A polar vortex happens when the stratosphere, the upper part of Earth’s atmosphere, warms up suddenly. That brings strong winds, which then splits the vortex, drawing cold air from the north into the south.

“When the vortex, perched some 60,000 feet high in the atmosphere, is stable, winter conditions over the United States and Europe tend to be rather ordinary. Winter is still winter, with the normal mix of storms, cold snaps and thaws,” the Post writes. “But when the vortex is disrupted, an ordinary winter can suddenly turn severe and memorable for an extended duration. ‘[It] can affect the entire winter,’ Cohen said in an interview.”

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