The polar night jet, the high-altitude winter wind that circles the Arctic, acts like a flywheel for the cold season in the Northern Hemisphere. As climate change erodes the temperature contrast that ...

While much of the eastern U.S. has been frozen by rounds of Arctic air and snow, the West has experienced weeks of unseasonable warmth, which has left many mountain ranges in a snow drought. A major ...

A rare Super El Niño is building fast. See when it could start steering storms, unlocking Arctic air and shaping an early U.S ...

A major winter storm is impacting much of the nation east of the Rocky Mountains. The storm's intensity is caused by a combination of a stretched polar vortex, a wavy jet stream, and moisture from the ...

In recent years, the global climate has become increasingly extreme, with intensifying alternations of droughts and floods—particularly in ecologically vulnerable mid-latitude regions. But what is ...

Michigan is experiencing frigid temperatures and heavy snow due to a dip in the jet stream, not the polar vortex. The polar vortex is a large-scale cyclone of cold air that typically stays far north ...

A severe winter storm that brought crippling freezing rain, sleet and snow to a large part of the U.S. in late January 2026 left a mess in states from New Mexico to New England. Hundreds of thousands ...

The polar vortex is forecast to weaken unusually early, and that could lead to more persistent cold weather in at least parts of the U.S. in December. Last week, almost 100 daily record lows were tied ...

BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT THE POLAR VORTEX HERE. SO IT’S REALLY AN AREA OF COLD AIR THAT’S TRAPPED AROUND THE ARCTIC. AND IT’S JUST GOING TO IT USUALLY JUST STAYS PUT THERE. BUT WHEN IT WEAKENS, THAT JET ...

A major winter storm is impacting much of the nation east of the Rocky Mountains. The storm's intensity is caused by a combination of a stretched polar vortex, a wavy jet stream, and moisture from the ...