'Polar Vortex' Creates Huge Temperature Difference Across US
By By Becky Oskin, Staff Writer
9 hours ago
A "polar vortex" brought frigid Arctic air south on Sunday.
A blast
of Arctic air pushing south as far as Atlanta has caused air
temperatures across the United States to plunge, creating a massive
140-degree Fahrenheit (77 degrees Celsius) temperature difference
between the chilly Dakotas and balmy Florida yesterday (Jan. 5).
The pulse of frigid air, called a polar vortex, whirled into the United States this weekend on the heels of a major winter
storm. But unlike that storm, the polar vortex won't bring heavy
snowfall. (The snowstorm dropped nearly 2 feet, or 60 centimeters, of
snow in Boston last week.) Instead, the National Weather Service is
forecasting dangerous cold and windchills. The cold temperatures are
expected to last through Wednesday, the NWS forecasts.
The polar vortex
is a low-pressure system that circulates from west to east in the
Arctic during winter. Late last week, a high-pressure system — called an
atmospheric block — situated over northeastern Canada and Greenland
stopped this circulation pattern, pushing the cold air into the United
States. On Sunday afternoon, temperatures ranged from minus 55 F to 85 F
(minus 48 C to 29 C), according to NWS weather data.
On Monday morning, air temperatures in North Dakota and South Florida
were still more than 100 F apart. Chicago set a new record low of minus
16 F (minus 27 C) Monday morning, and Tulsa, Okla., broke a 102-year
record with a new low of minus 1 F (minus 18 C) recorded at 7:14 a.m.
local time, the NWS said.
Email Becky Oskin or follow her @beckyoskin. Follow us OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+. Original article at LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.
- The 10 Worst Blizzards in US History
- In Images: Extreme Weather Around the World
- Photos: The 8 Coldest Places on Earth
http://news.yahoo.com/39-polar-vortex-39-creates-huge-temperature-difference-174437108.html
No comments:
Post a Comment