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The polar vortex circling the North Pole is turning in the wrong direction after sudden warming in the upper atmosphere triggered a major reversal earlier this month. It's one of the most extreme weather turns in recent memory.
In the past, there have been disturbances in the polar vortex – a rotating mass of cold air orbiting the North Pole It caused extreme cold weather and storms Across large parts of the United States.
The current change in the direction of the vortex probably will not lead to a similar “big freeze.” But the sudden shift caused a “record rise in ozone” over the Arctic.
The polar vortex is most prominent during the winter months and extends into the stratosphere—the second layer of the atmosphere—up to about 30 miles (50 kilometers) above the surface. The vortex rotates counterclockwise at wind speeds of about 155 mph (250 km/h), about the same speed as a Category 5 hurricane, according to UK Met Office. A similar vortex also encircles Antarctica during the austral winter.
The polar vortexes sometimes reverse temporarily. These events can last for days, weeks, or months, and are caused by sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), when temperatures in the stratosphere rise by as much as 90°F (50°C) within two days, according to office met.
Related: 'One of the largest holes on record': An ozone hole larger than North America opens up over Antarctica
The sudden warming is caused byPlanetary waves“In the atmosphere – pressure waves are formed when air rises into an area of different density and is pushed down by the force of the Earth's rotation. This process disrupts or reverses the vortex flow.
The current reversal event in the Arctic began on March 4, but the winds have begun to slow, indicating that the vortex will return to its normal path soon. Spaceweather.com reported.
“It was a huge coup” Amy Butlera climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and author of NOAA's New Polar Vortex Blog, he told Spaceweather.com. She added that the reversed wind speed places the event in the top six of all time.
The polar vortex disruption could affect the weather in the United States, As in 2019 when Huge cold front download Across the Midwest. These extreme weather events occur when the polar vortex distorts the jet stream — an air current surrounding the polar vortex — exposing low latitudes to large blobs of icy Arctic air.
This month's turbulence did not change the shape of the jet stream, so weather patterns are expected to remain largely unaffected, according to Spaceweather.com.
However, the change in air temperature around the Arctic has absorbed large amounts of… Ozone from low latitudes, resulting in a temporary rise in ozone – the opposite of an ozone hole. Currently, there is more ozone surrounding the North Pole than at this time during any other year on record, according to Spaceweather.com. However, this rise in ozone will disappear after the polar vortex returns to normal
Butler wrote on NOAA's polar vortex blog that the current reversal is the second of its kind this year, after a smaller event in January that caused a brief cold snap in some states.
Historical records show that SSW events are most likely to occur during El Niño or La Niña, two contrasting phases of the natural cycle of planetary warming and cooling. During these phases, global weather systems become less stable, setting the stage for more frequent adverse events, Butler wrote in a NOAA blog.
We are currently In the middle of a major El Niño phenomenonwhich may lead to further setbacks or disruptions over the next year or so.
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