The polar vortex is area of fast-moving winds well above the Earth’s surface and the jet stream that circle the Arctic during the Northern Hemisphere’s coldest months.

The United States has been at the epicenter of the planet’s most unusually cold conditions early in 2025. The polar vortex is to blame.

There is a sudden warming about to happen high up in the atmosphere. This warming usually affects the Polar Vortex.

Midwest memes are a treasure trove of humor. They blend that wholesome, small-town vibe with the kind of inside jokes only people who’ve survived a polar vortex, eaten a hotdish, or heard “ope ...

These polar vortex stretches are happening more frequently as the world — and especially the Arctic — warms, a 2021 paper published in the journal Science, also co-authored by Cohen, demonstrated.

Winter, which is warming faster than any other season for much of the US, seems to be making a comeback for the first time in years; this January was the coldest in the Lower 48 since 1988.