So, something new.

Well, I've lived a pretty long time now....and you'd think I've learned just about everything I'd ever want to know.  I'm always pleased to discover there's something new out there to tickle my fancy just about every day.

So, here I go again...although this has been a scientific phenomenon for quite some time, last week was the first time in my life I've heard the term Polar Vortex.  I had no idea there was such a thing.  But since severe cold has been plaguing the country, more and more channels are throwing those two words around in wild abandon.  I thought perhaps I should educate myself on this matter.

This is what I learned:  First, these vortexes not only happen here on earth, but in space as well.  Apparently they happen at the poles of planets such as Mars as well.  There is also record of one on Saturn's moon Titan. 

Fascinated, I further discovered, thank you, Wikipedia. "Vortexes are persistent, large-scale cyclones located near one or both of a planet's geographical poles.  On Earth,  they surround polar highs, and lie in the wake of the polar front.  These cold-core low-pressure areas strengthen in the winter and weaken in the summer.  They usually span 620–1,240 miles in which the air is circulating in a counter-clockwise fashion (in the northern hemisphere).

The Arctic vortex has two centers, one near Baffin Island and the other over northeast Siberia. In the southern hemisphere, it tends to be located near the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. When the polar vortex is strong, the Westerlies increase in strength. When the polar cyclone is weak, the general flow pattern across mid-latitudes buckles and significant cold outbreaks occur. Ozone depletion occurs within the polar vortex, particularly over the Southern Hemisphere, which reaches its maximum in the spring."

Also, according to Wikipedia, "Polar lows (Vortexes) were first identified on the meteorological satellite imagery that became available in the 1960s, which revealed many small-scale cloud vortexes at high latitudes. The most active polar lows are found over certain ice-free maritime areas in or near the Arctic during the winter, such as the Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea, Labrador Sea, and Gulf of Alaska.  Polar lows dissipate rapidly when they make landfall. Antarctic systems tend to be weaker than their northern counterparts since the air-sea temperature differences around the continent are generally smaller. However, vigorous polar lows can be found over the Southern Ocean."

One final tidbit to tell you about, Polar Vortexes are difficult to forecast in advance and are mostly discovered on a short term basis know in the Meteorologists term "Nowcasting" which could mean as sort a time frame of six hours before a meteorological  event occurs.  (No wonder they occasionally get things wrong.)

So, there you have it, in a nutshell, you now know as much as you will ever want to know about Polar Vortexes.  Just another walk down my path of Useless Information.