Polar vortex could unleash winter wallop by January

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle 12/17/2018 by Jason Samenow

Winter got off to a fast start in the Lower 48 even before it was technically winter. Waves of cold gripped the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and several winter storms tracked across the region.

Conditions have since eased some but the heart of winter lies ahead. Will cold and snowy conditions return and turn more harsh?

The polar vortex, the roaring river of air winding around the North Pole, holds the cards. What they reveal could be very disturbing and a harbinger of extreme winter weather conditions in the eastern U.S.

Judah Cohen, a climate researcher at Atmospheric Environmental Research, monitors the condition of the vortex, every day checking the latest prediction models for any sign of disturbance. He is concerned about what some models are projecting at the end of December or early January.

When the vortex, perched some 60,000 feet high in the atmosphere is stable, winter conditions over the U.S. and Europe tend to be rather ordinary. Winter is still winter, with the normal mix of storms, cold snaps, and thaws.

But when the vortex is disrupted, an ordinary winter can suddenly turn severe and memorable for an extended duration. "[It] can affect the entire winter," Cohen said in an interview.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Polar-vortex-could-unleash-winter-wallop-by-13472804.php?src=hp_totn

[jmyrlefuller]

News flash: it gets cold in January, film at 11

[Wingnut]

Canada's greatest export to the USA.

[Applewood]

It's already here in some parts of the US.  I haven't seen more than flurries, but it's been cold since October. 

Quick!  We gotta pass more taxes and enviro regulations to fix this calamity.   

[goatprairie]

Canada's greatest export to the USA.

I want a wall on the southern border and a ten thousand foot high one on the northern border to keep out the cold wind from the Arctic and Canada.

[txradioguy]

Bu...bu...but GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!

[Free Vulcan]

Which is global warming. And the warm winter temps we have now are global warming. All that rain we had this fall was global warming, and the little dry spell since is global warming.

And your dog eating your shoes this morning is also global warming, as is your flat tire, and you forgetting to pay the mortgage on time. All global warming.

[BassWrangler]

Canada's greatest export to the USA.

No, that's those Canadian Geese. Thirty pound flying crap factories.

[dfwgator]

Remember when it was just called, "Weather"?

[rustynail]

If Obama had given us a Carbon Tax all this weather weirding would be in the past.

[Polly Ticks]

[mountaineer]

News flash: it gets cold in January, film at 11

Except this year it got cold long before winter, and we haven't had a single break in the cold. Usually, we'll have some cold days in November and December, with an occasional respite in the 60s. There have been times I went out in shorts to play golf in December.  Not this year! (I live in the Upper Ohio Valley).

[austingirl]

Winter in January! What's next?

[roamer_1]

No, that's those Canadian Geese. Thirty pound flying crap factories.

Hey. That's good eating. The geese, I mean, not the crap. Learn not to have your mouth open when you look up

[roamer_1]

Except this year it got cold long before winter, and we haven't had a single break in the cold. Usually, we'll have some cold days in November and December, with an occasional respite in the 60s. There have been times I went out in shorts to play golf in December.  Not this year! (I live in the Upper Ohio Valley).

Meanwhile, high in the rockies, close to the Canadian border, tshirts and 40 degrees. grass, and a lot of it green. We should be in about 3' of snow by now... 

[BassWrangler]

Hey. That's good eating. The geese, I mean, not the crap. Learn not to have your mouth open when you look up

It's the crap they leave on the ground near every local lake and pond. Have a pair of shoes outside right now because saturated with goose crap.

Regarding the eating, there's enough to feed an Army around here this time of year, but unfortunately it is illegal to discharge a firearm in the local area here.

[mountaineer]

I always wondered whether Canada geese were good eatin'. We certainly see plenty of them (and their piles of poop) around here.

[roamer_1]

I always wondered whether Canada geese were good eatin'. We certainly see plenty of them (and their piles of poop) around here.

Excellent fare.

[roamer_1]

It's the crap they leave on the ground near every local lake and pond. Have a pair of shoes outside right now because saturated with goose crap.

Regarding the eating, there's enough to feed an Army around here this time of year, but unfortunately it is illegal to discharge a firearm in the local area here.

Heck, pick up a rock. They're easy when they are on the ground.

[corbe]

                FAKE NEWS!

[Restored]

Well, February better be warm. That's all I have to say.

[Wingnut]

Heck, pick up a rock. They're easy when they are on the ground.

Those Canadian critters are mean.  They will chase you all over if you show any fear.  A baseball bat hit the head usually stops them...  But a good heavy rock would work too!

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

Those Canadian critters are mean.  They will chase you all over if you show any fear.  A baseball bat hit the head usually stops them...  But a good heavy rock would work too!

Awww, that'd take all the fun outta buying that bright, shiney new compound bow.