New Delhi: The United States is going to experience dangerously cold temperatures due to the Arctic ‘polar vortex’. In most of the US, the polar vortex will will send temperatures tumbling below freezing this weekend. According to weather forecasts, a lobe of the polar vortex will dip to the south and move this weekend into the US and into next week. By Monday, over 300 million people in the US is going to experience below-average temperatures. According to reports, there can be below-zero temperatures across at least 20 states. Due to the forecast of severe cold, President-elect Donald Trump has said that his inauguration will be held indoors on January 20.
What is the polar vortex?
A polar vortex is defined as a large, low-pressure cold air system which forms nears the Poles of the Earth. While the polar vortex, as the name suggests, always exists near the Poles, it gets weaker in summer and stronger in winter. If you are wondering about the term ‘vortex’, it denotes the air’s counter-clockwise flow that keeps the colder air near the Poles.
During winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward. From the polar regions, the cold air is pushed into lower altitudes, which affects North America, Europe and Asia. If the polar vortex shifts or become weak, it result in extreme cold spells. It leads to dangerously low temperatures, significant snowfall and strong winds in regions which are located far away from the poles. It creates “Arctic blasts” that bring cold conditions which can threaten life. The polar vortex is a regular phenomenon during the winter and is associated with large outbreaks of Arctic air in the US. In 2014, a cold outbreak occurred in the country and it also took place in 1977, 1982, 1985 and 1989.
The polar has existed at the surface of the Earth. Weather forecasters examine it by looking at conditions tens of thousands of feet up in the atmosphere. During the polar vortex, the temperatures gets extremely cold, sending Arctic air southward into areas that are not typically that cold.
As per the National Weather Service in the US, the polar vortex brings “life-threatening” risks of hypothermia and frostbite. It results in the coldest weather of the season and this year, it will again send shivers down the spine of the US. It remains to be seen how people in the country tackles the burst of extreme cold.
A strong polar vortex is bringing dangerously cold temperatures to the US this weekend, impacting over 300 million people by Monday. Below-zero temperatures are expected across 20 states, prompting warnings about life-threatening risks of hypothermia and frostbite. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
