Effects of polar vortex headed our way

Paul Kiska
·2 min read
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CLEVELAND (WJW) — The effects of a Polar Vortex will pay a visit to NE Ohio later this weekend.

While it won’t bring record cold temps, it will bring our coldest air of the winter. Highs only in the teens, lows in the single digits, and wind chills below zero starting Sunday and continuing well into next week, according to Fox 8 meteorologist Alexis Walters.

A Polar Vortex is associated with large outbreaks of Arctic air across the United States and NE Ohio.

Fox 8 meteorologist Scott Sabol said the Polar air mass is finally on the move this winter.

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A strong El Nino, along with other tropical Pacific phases and patterns, caused Cleveland to have one of its warmest Decembers on record.

Himalayan Mountains can influence NE Ohio weather and beyond

The Himalayan Mountains can influence our weather and globally. Sabol said a huge ridge of high pressure that originated north of the Arctic Circle interacted with the Himalayas as it developed over Central Asia.

“This interaction caused a ripple effect that cascaded into the upper atmosphere. This aided in disrupting the polar vortex and weakening the jet stream. Extreme warming (called stratosphere warming) at the very top of the atmosphere displaced the polar vortex and the jet stream,” Sabol said. A type of warming that triggers the Polar Vortex to wobble sending it drifting south toward…you guessed it…us.

POLAR JET STREAM HEADED OUR WAY

As the Polar jet stream sinks across Canada it will air mail us arctic air starting next Saturday night into Sunday and that colder air could stick around a couple of weeks.

Sabol recognized this colder air potential for mid to late January developing weeks ago in mid-December. You can watch what he noticed even back then which involved global weather factors by clicking here.

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Good news for those who enjoy true winter weather

So, for winter sports enthusiasts this is good news heading into mid-January to enjoy skiing, snowboarding, and much more in NE Ohio.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.