[sounding]

This weekend's below average temperatures are a result of the current Polar Vortex excursion into an unprecedented Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event ... https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/produc..._2026-2027.png

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by sounding

This weekend's below average temperatures are a result of the current Polar Vortex excursion into an unprecedented Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event ... https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/produc..._2026-2027.png

OhMyGAWD!!!! We're all gonna DIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

[barbara828]

Lol

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

OhMyGAWD!!!! We're all gonna DIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Eventually yes….

[ThirdOfFive]

Heh. "Polar Vortex". How grim and forbidding does THAT sound?

Back in the day, UpNort, we also had polar vortexes. Only we (and the weather people) called 'em a "Canadian high". A Canadian high is what usually happened after a significant snowfall and were a welcome event. The morning after the snow ended the skies would clear to the brightest blue you can imagine, the temp. would drop 10 to 20 degrees and the wind would pick up. Growing up in the wilds of far northern Minnesota on non-school days it usually meant shoveling out the driveway (about 100 yards or so), hauling up a good supply of wood, and then it time permitted we'd don the XC skis and hit the great outdoors. Absolutely nothing bad about a Canadian high.

A "polar vortex", on the other hand...well, that particular descriptor didn't enter common use until well after childhood. I recall being amused by it. On of the weather people on a TV station we got (the only one we got, come to think of it) actually admitted that the term "polar vortex" replaced "Canadian high" precisely BECAUSE of how grim and forbidding it sounded! Even that long ago, I thought it was mighty strange that "reporters" would be required to use a term that was picked to intentionally scare people, but...

That's how it goes in our Brave New World, I guess.

[sounding]

I agree. Now we better understand why those polar outbreaks suddenly appear -- when the winter Vortex stops rotating counter-clockwise (for varying periods), and starts spinning clockwise, and like opening a freezer door, the Vortex releases huge amounts of frigid air.

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Heh. "Polar Vortex". How grim and forbidding does THAT sound?

Back in the day, UpNort, we also had polar vortexes. Only we (and the weather people) called 'em a "Canadian high". A Canadian high is what usually happened after a significant snowfall and were a welcome event. The morning after the snow ended the skies would clear to the brightest blue you can imagine, the temp. would drop 10 to 20 degrees and the wind would pick up. Growing up in the wilds of far northern Minnesota on non-school days it usually meant shoveling out the driveway (about 100 yards or so), hauling up a good supply of wood, and then it time permitted we'd don the XC skis and hit the great outdoors. Absolutely nothing bad about a Canadian high.

A "polar vortex", on the other hand...well, that particular descriptor didn't enter common use until well after childhood. I recall being amused by it. On of the weather people on a TV station we got (the only one we got, come to think of it) actually admitted that the term "polar vortex" replaced "Canadian high" precisely BECAUSE of how grim and forbidding it sounded! Even that long ago, I thought it was mighty strange that "reporters" would be required to use a term that was picked to intentionally scare people, but...

That's how it goes in our Brave New World, I guess.

[MrFlorida]

Polar Vortex in Florida.....LOL

[Bay Kid]

Burrrrrrrrr

[sounding]

The Polar Vortex does not touch Florida, but the release of huge amounts polar air can and often reaches Florida - and beyond. Do not sell your snow shovel. Remember, it snowed in Miami in 1977 -- and it will happen again ... https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...298952925.html

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

Polar Vortex in Florida.....LOL

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by sounding

The Polar Vortex does not touch Florida, but the release of huge amounts polar air can and often reaches Florida - and beyond. Do not sell your snow shovel. Remember, it snowed in Miami in 1977 -- and it will happen again ... https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...298952925.html

Keepin' our fingers crossed...

I remember driving through St. Louis MO during a moderate snowfall, first one of the year apparently. St. Louis does get a little snow, maybe 18" max per year, so it is rare but not unheard-of. Anyway, it was morning rush hour and the folks there were absolutely clueless as to what do to, and how to drive, when it is about 33 degrees and with wet snow on the ground: 2-3" at most. The freeway system, as much of it as we could see on our drive through, looked like a gigantic pinball game! I wonder just what Tallahassee or Orlando would resemble if they got hit with a like event.

[MrFlorida]

Originally Posted by sounding

The Polar Vortex does not touch Florida, but the release of huge amounts polar air can and often reaches Florida - and beyond. Do not sell your snow shovel. Remember, it snowed in Miami in 1977 -- and it will happen again ... https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...298952925.html

Never seen a snow shovel in any store here in Florida...

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

Never seen a snow shovel in any store here in Florida...

This weather would be great if we lived in Minnesota.