US Feels Like Minus 50 Degrees... Cause Is the Southward Movement of the 'Polar Vortex'

Apparent Temperature in Chicago -53°C, Memphis, Tennessee -54°C, etc.
No Consensus in the Scientific Community on the Cause of the Phenomenon

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] As a cold wave with a wind chill below minus 50 degrees hit the United States, the cause was identified as the 'polar vortex.'

On the 22nd (local time), major foreign media including The New York Times (NYT) reported that due to the cold and dry air descending from the Arctic, the wind chill temperature reached minus 53 degrees in Chicago and minus 54 degrees in Memphis, Tennessee the day before.

This cold wave swept across the United States because the 'polar vortex,' a cold and dry air mass swirling around the Arctic, moved southward. The Arctic polar vortex is known to be strongest during winter when sunlight barely reaches the Arctic.

On the 22nd (local time), a cold wave hit Chicago, USA. (Photo by Yonhap News)

Under normal conditions, the polar vortex is trapped by the strong westerly jet stream and does not move south but circulates around the Arctic. However, when the jet stream weakens and stretches downward, the vortex deviates from its path following the jet stream and moves southward, bringing severe cold to the United States and other regions.

This abnormal climate is likely to continue until the polar vortex returns to its original position and stabilizes. It could last for several weeks.

However, there is still no consensus in the scientific community on why this phenomenon occurs. Dr. Steve Vavrus, a climate scientist at the University of Wisconsin, proposed a hypothesis in 2012 that Arctic warming affects the path of the polar vortex, but he said, "Unfortunately, the situation remains unclear."

Some scientists argue that Arctic warming has weakened the jet stream. Dr. Judah Cohen, who studies climate science at the Atmospheric and Environmental Research Institute in Lexington, Massachusetts, linked the cold wave that hit Texas last year to Arctic warming and published a paper on it this year. On the other hand, some scientists find it difficult to identify a correlation between Arctic warming and the jet stream.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.