For those of you who like to read about the intricacies of the atmosphere, you may be interested in taking a look at NOAA’s new Polar Vortex Blog. Like the ENSO blog, it will go into depth about how the Polar Vortex is affecting our local weather. This time of year the Polar Vortex can cause tremendous variations in the local weather depending on whether it is bottled up near the North Pole or extending south into the mid-latitudes.
Here is what NOAA says about the new blog:
We are excited to announce that NOAA Climate.gov, home of the highly popular ENSO Blog, is venturing into a colder, darker, and windier corner of the atmosphere with the new Polar Vortex Blog. We plan to explore various facets of the winds, climate, and chemistry within the fascinating region of the atmosphere known as the polar stratosphere, and explain how this region can sometimes drive big changes in our weather patterns!
While ENSO may be the seasoned celebrity in the seasonal forecasting world, in recent years the stratospheric polar vortex has become a rising star: constantly making headlines and being stalked by the paparazzi, but often misunderstood or misrepresented. We hope to clear up misconceptions, highlight new research, and discuss what the polar vortex is up to and how it may affect our winter’s weather. We expect there to be 1-2 posts per month between December and March, with the initial focus on the Northern Hemisphere polar vortex (yep, there’s one down south, too!).
I am looking forward to reading it! You can expect to see some of their stories in my blog, just as I sometimes highlight the ENSO blog.
