The term "Polar Vortex" has become one of the most overused and misused terms over the past year as much of the United States experienced a harsh winter. With a cold spell this November, people want to associate any cold period with the polar vortex.
Let's start with what the Polar Vortex is.
It is an upper level cyclone over the poles. It stays there and is always there. It is not something new. It just has become a buzz word that was picked up and shared over and over.
The Polar Vortex sits over the poles and sometimes has fluctuations in its flow. As this happens, occasionally a "drop" or some of that cold air from the main flow can break loose. That upper level cold air can then get caught up in the flow of the jet and help bring in cold air from the north. So part of the misuse is saying this IS the Polar Vortex. In last year's case, it was air from the Polar Vortex, or air influenced by the Polar Vortex.
This is NOT what is happening now.
This cold spell is due to the jet stream. Typhoon remnants moved up the coast and pushed the jet stream up toward Alaska. The jet stream is a wave and when one part goes up, another comes down. That is what is happening over the United States. This then causes the overall flow to pull in cold air from Canada. This flow does seem to stick around through at least the next week. We are not even in the coldest part at the moment. That moves in Tuesday as the jet starts to shift east. The flow starts to change by next Thursday and could actually allow for above average temperatures for the end of November.
