May 17, 2019 10:21 AM EDT
When temperatures lurk in the drizzly 40s and 50s well into flower season, northerners get impatient for summer. But when 80-degree temperatures visit the high Arctic, as they just did, and when sleet disrupts Mother’s Day weekend in May in Massachusetts, as it just did, thoughts turn to: What is going on here? Read more >
January 29, 2019 11:46 AM EDT
Temperatures are predicted to plummet across the Eastern US as one of the coldest air masses in decades settles into these regions. So zip up and cinch your scarves. Stay safe. And remember that despite this bitter chill, the planet is still heating up. Read more >
January 3, 2018 4:50 PM EDT
Forecasters are trotting out “polar vortex” and atypical terms like “Nor’easter bomb” and “bombogenesis.” These words signal the unusual and dangerous conditions forecast for winter storm Grayson and their implications for the Southeast US, Mid-Atlantic, and eventually New England and beyond. What do they mean? Read more >
December 21, 2015 2:51 PM EDT
This past week, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2015 annual meeting was abuzz with discussion of El Niño 3.4 and the Arctic Oscillation. No wonder. These indicators are clues to how major competing factors may play out this winter in the northern hemisphere. Read more >
November 20, 2014 11:45 AM EDT
The “polar vortex” is synonymous with cold air blasts for Americans. But is it correct to equate polar air with the polar vortex? The answer is no. Read more >
