The Polar Vortex is a permanent blob of cold air that usually keeps to itself in the Arctic, but occasionally slips south across the U.S., as it has the past couple of winters.

El Nino typically brings warmer and drier conditions to the Pacific Northwest in winter. ... In El Niño years, the polar vortex usually stays strong, and it keeps a lot of cold air bottled up.

During all these years, the polar vortex existed, and at least 15 inches of snow accumulated during the season. And it still gets cold on strong El Niño year, for the most part.

When the polar vortex weakens, the cold air typically trapped in the Arctic can spill out into parts of Canada, the U.S., Asia and Europe because the jet stream becomes more blocked with sharp ...

The end result is all three jet streams — along with an assist from the polar vortex — are now merging in the Northeast. This is boosting an otherwise strong jet stream, into a record breaking ...

And this year’s El Niño is the strongest ever recorded. A strong polar vortex probably compounded the situation, keeping the cold air from the east out, says Marshall Shepherd, a meteorologist ...

The ol’ El Niño–Southern Oscillation Higher water temps in the Pacific increase the odds of a sudden stratospheric warming — heightened pressure and temperatures in the polar stratosphere ...

Ski areas are getting nervous in the Northeast, a confused southern bird has been spotted in New York City, and Buffalo has yet to see snow, something that hasn't happened there in December since ...

El Nino typically brings warmer and drier conditions to the Pacific Northwest in winter. The last time Washington had an El Nino was in 2018-19. Skip Navigation ...