The term “polar vortex” might conjure images of mythical icy storms swirling through the North Pole but in reality it’s a ...

A sudden stratospheric warming event reversed the winds that make up the northern polar vortex on March 9. A new animation shows the vortex also moved away from the Arctic towards Europe.

February 2022 was also characterized by an extremely strong stratospheric polar vortex—a large spinning mass of cold air in the stratosphere around 15 miles above the Arctic that is prominent ...