Almost all of North America is shivering with cold. In Quebec and Ottawa, the values ​​drop to -30 degrees. Arctic cold has gripped large parts of Canada and the United States. Temperatures in New York also drop to -15 degrees. The polar vortex is responsible for the extreme cold. And the next cold snap could even hit Germany.

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Polar vortices pushed back towards Canada

At the end of January, the polar vortex was disrupted and pushed back. Strong high pressure from Siberia had previously distorted the polar vortex. He was stretched, so to speak. In the lower layers it extended over Canada, and in the upper layers over Greenland and sometimes even over Northern Europe.

Outbursts of extreme cold air occur especially in the deep layers. And that’s exactly what happened. Due to the deformation of the polar vortex, cold arctic air in North America was drawn south into the lower layers. Currently, there is no colder air mass even over the eternal ice of Greenland than over New France in North America.

An almost circular bubble of cold air covers cities like Ottawa or Quebec. Temperatures drop to -30 degrees in cities, maybe even lower outside.

Cold air rises in the blizzard

And it wasn’t just Canada and New France that felt the effects. Even 1,200 miles south in Texas there were still frosts and power outages. A whole continent is freezing right now. But fortunately, the weather situation has now ended relatively quickly.

Extremely cold air meets the spurs of the Gulf Stream over the North Atlantic and erupts in a powerful blizzard. However, this storm only hits sparsely populated areas of Canada and Greenland. Large cold passes and warmer air cover large parts of North America.

The polar vortex is straightening up and even heading towards the North Pole, at least for a short time.

The polar vortex is pushed back again

Play resumes in mid-February. Strong high pressure from Asia restarts and brings extremely hot air to the North Pole. The polar vortex is also pushed back.

That this happens is indisputable. But the effects are not yet clear. There could be a repeat of the arrival of the Arctic winter in North America or elsewhere in the northern hemisphere. It is still uncertain. We don’t yet know where the cold air will hit. But cold air is sure to come, probably in early March.

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The original of this post “Polar vortex triggers a cold snap – and not for the last time” comes from The weather channel.