The polar vortex is a ring of cold air that typically circles the Arctic. A strong jet stream essentially acts like a fence, keeping it locked there. If there's any weakening in the jet stream (the fence), the frigid air can become unstable and spill out. This sends the normally trapped cold air much farther south.
The most unusually cold air in the Northern Hemisphere will be over the United States early next week, bringing dangerously frigid conditions.
A blast of Arctic air is set to cover much of the United States with temperatures below freezing starting on Friday and into next week, impacting millions of Americans in nearly all of the contiguous states.
A brutal polar vortex is set to bury the Big Apple in snow Sunday and then deliver deadly single-digit temperatures that will feel like 15 degrees below zero. New
People living "basically anywhere from the Rockies eastward" will see extremely cold temperatures over the next several days, a meteorologist says.
Temperatures are expected to plummet over the weekend, bringing life-threatening conditions to large stretches of the United States. The polar vortex will send temperatures below freezing for much
Americans were bracing Thursday for frigid temperatures that forecasters said could produce life-threatening conditions, with Donald Trump's inauguration expected to be the coldest in 40 years.
A polar vortex is currently hitting the United States, with schools closed in many areas and at least four deaths caused by treacherous conditions.
With temperatures expected to be among the coldest Inauguration Day in decades, officials have decided to move the swearing-in ceremony inside.
A polar vortex dipping down from Siberia will bring a cold front with frigid temperatures to nearly 300 million Americans. See maps of the arctic blast.
People living "basically anywhere from the Rockies eastward" will see extremely cold temperatures over the next several days, a meteorologist says. That includes Kansas City, which is set to host a Chiefs playoffs game this weekend.