National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
United States Department of Commerce

Polar Vortex Carries Cold Weather into Eastern United States

jet stream for January 6, 2014.

Regions of light blue color show the counter-clockwise path of the jet stream for January 6, 2014. The map in white near the bottom center shows the outline of the U.S.

April 24, 2014
image of January 2014 jet stream

Regions of light blue color show the counter-clockwise path of the jet stream for January 6, 2014. The map in white near the bottom center shows the outline of the U.S.

January 06, 2014

PMEL’s Dr. James Overland explains why the eastern United States is experiencing frigid temperatures in early January 2014 on the Arctic web site's new Polar Vortex page. He describes how in the last five years we have seen the jet stream transform from its typical, nice oval pattern around the North Pole to more of a wavy formation, and this waviness is resulting in colder weather being carried into the eastern US and eastern Asia.

Visit the Arctic web site to read more about the polar vortex and how the connection between the Arctic warming trend and more severe weather in mid-latitudes is an active area of research.

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