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Extreme Cold Alert: What is a Polar vortex, and why is it dangerous? Will it affect India?
Americans face dangerously cold temperatures as a polar vortex brings life-threatening conditions. Nighttime lows may drop to minus 23°F in northern states, with impacts felt across the contiguous US, including snow and sub-zero wind chills in southern regions starting Sunday night.
Americans are preparing for dangerously cold temperatures on Thursday, with forecasts predicting life-threatening conditions and the coldest inauguration day in 40 years. The Arctic “polar vortex” is expected to bring nighttime lows as low as minus 23 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 31 degrees Celsius) to some of the northernmost parts of the United States over the weekend.
Also Read: Donald Trump Inauguration Highlights: Quad foreign ministers to hold meeting during ceremony
A blast of Arctic air is set to cover much of the United States, with temperatures below freezing starting on Friday and into next week. This will impact millions of Americans in nearly all of the contiguous states.
What is the polar vortex?
A polar vortex is a large, low-pressure cold air system that typically forms near the Earth's poles. During the winter, it can expand and shift, pushing cold air from the polar regions into lower latitudes, often affecting North America, Europe, and Asia. When the polar vortex weakens or shifts, it can lead to extreme cold spells, sometimes resulting in dangerously low temperatures, strong winds, and significant snowfall in regions far from the poles. This phenomenon is responsible for the “Arctic blasts” that bring life-threatening cold conditions.
As reported by Reuters, citing the National Weather Service, temperatures will reach below 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 C) in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, into the teens in the central Plains and Midwest and near 30 degrees in parts of the South on Saturday, before the front moves into the East Coast and the Southeast on Monday.
What happens during the polar vortex?
The bitter cold temperatures will bring "life-threatening" risks of hypothermia and frostbite, the NWS warned.
Americans living as far south as the Southern Plains can expect to see sub-zero wind chills beginning Sunday night, said Zack Taylor, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center.
“That will actually linger for several days for much of the southern U.S., Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and the Northeast as we get into early to mid-next week,” he said, as reported by Reuters.
The coldest weather of the season to date will be caused by a phenomenon called a polar vortex. A polar vortex is an upper-level jet stream that typically circulates around both the North and South Poles but can push cold winds down into the US and Canada when it weakens and expands.
Donald Trump inauguration
President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday his inauguration will be held indoors on Monday because of severe cold. Temperatures are forecast to be only as high as 23 degrees on Monday in Washington, D.C., with wind chill set to make it feel even cooler.
States from Virginia up into New England could see heavy snow along with frigid temperatures, with Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston potentially receiving several inches of snow.
Southern states could also get snow and ice from a separate storm starting Monday night across portions of Texas that may spread as far south as the Gulf Coast, said Taylor.
"That's something that we are keeping a close eye on, given the sensitivities of those not accustomed to winter weather and not used to those kind of situations," he said.
Will the polar vortex affect India?
That will actually linger for several days for much of the southern U.S., Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and the Northeast as we get into early to mid-next week.
The bitter cold temperatures will bring 'life-threatening' risks of hypothermia and frostbite.
A weakened polar vortex can lead to disturbances in the west, bringing heavy snowfall to the western Himalayas and cooler temperatures to northern India. This shift in weather patterns often results in colder conditions and significant snowfall in higher altitudes.
(With inputs from agencies)
Key Takeaways
- Understanding the polar vortex is crucial for predicting extreme weather patterns.
- A weakened polar vortex can cause significant temperature drops and snowfall far from the poles.
- Regions like northern India may also experience weather changes due to disturbances from the polar vortex.
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Business NewsScienceNewsExtreme Cold Alert: What is a Polar vortex, and why is it dangerous? Will it affect India?
First Published:18 Jan 2025, 08:12 AM IST
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