Stratospheric polar vortex changes still trigger brutal U.S. winter cold snaps and extreme weather despite a warming climate.

Even in a warming climate, brutal cold snaps still hammer parts of the U.S., and a new study uncovers why. High above the ...

The mechanism involves atmospheric waves that bounce between the upper atmosphere and ground level, amplifying weather patterns and making them more extreme. Scientists call this “stratospheric wave ...

Despite a warming climate, bone-chilling winter cold can grip parts of the U.S. In a study appearing in Science Advances, ...

Three factors are combining to increase the likelihood of a weaker polar vortex this winter, the website reports. And a ...

Every year, weather enthusiasts eagerly watch and wait for signs that the polar vortex, a mass of cold air spinning around the Arctic, might meander south, sending cold and snow into the lower ...

The polar vortex, as explained by the National Weather Service, is a large area of low pressure and cold air that encircles the Earth’s poles. Even though it’s often framed in the media as a weather ...

But at times some of the vortex can break off or move south, bringing unusually cold weather south and permitting warmer weather to creep up north.