The Crazy Phenomenon Causing Record Low Temps This Winter! 

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In the 1970s it was called an Arctic Cold Front.

Can confirm. Polar Vortex collapsed. It is currently -39° C here in Edmonton. This cold snap began Tuesday and is due to end by Monday or Tuesday. It has been brutal.

I was living in Princeton, NJ, from 91 to 93 and clearly remember that day. I was at a friend's house (I was only 7 or 8) and had to stay over because my parents couldn't get the car out of the snow. Best winter ever for a kid my age, but I guess lots of people had it rough.

I have lived in Eastern Canada for almost 70 years. The polar vortex is not new and please don't leave viewers with your opening comment that "this has never happened before ".

The stratospheric warming event 3 years ago decimated Texas with ice, snow and bitter cold. I live in Memphis TN. During that week we had about a foot of ice, snow and temps near zero. The entire city all but shut down for 9 days.

Thanks for this detailed explanation, it all adds up to why in the early months of winter we don't get much fluctuation and snow and then suddenly starting from mid january through march the weather oscilates a lot. In the past the oscilation was not lasting such a long time and the springs were more stable. I remember starting with the 2000s it became more and more difficult for my grandparents to plant vegetables and fruit trees started getting frostbites in the spring and produce less, because we started getting snaps of cold weather much later into the spring season, probably because the vortex collapse and its oscillations now reverberate for longer. I live in Romania

Good job - you're probably the third or fourth person I've heard warning of a bitter winter for the North, based on what el Nino is up to! - If it doesn't pan out, no harm done, but being prepared for the worst, as best you can, and being on your guard would be sensible. Keeping snow shovels, warm clothes, boots, snacks, water, flash light & kitty litter in your car, for example could be a life saver. Having run off a country road after snow in an unexpected ice storm on my way home from work one night, with no boots was a bitter lesson - back in the days before mobiles... Keep safe everyone, and be prepared!

They can't predict a storm 2 days away let alone months away.

Bringing up this subject without mentioning the sun even once is like talking about the effects of drinking beer, while focusing on barley and water, but never mentioning alcohol.

I remember the blizzard of 77 here in Canada the snow was piled up almost as high as the electric lines on the side of the road and now we hardly get snow at all , o well maybe this year will get buried again 🙂

I'm going to make a point of carrying gift cards to local open-late coffee shop to give to unhoused people in this weather, so they'll have an excuse to spend an hour somewhere warm in this weather. Thank you for this reminder to stock up. 🙏

Awesome video! Thanks for your hard work and research!

This makes me wonder if the mass of humid air in the upper atmosphere is the reason for this being so devastating. This makes a bunch of sense

Completely geeked out on this. Excellent job. thanks.

Sweet! Best news I have heard on this winter, yet! Thanks for the update! This ski season may not be a bust after all!

Down here in Gauteng, South Africa, we are having a real mixed bag! We had light snow and black frost in winter for a day or 2, the rest of winter was fairly mild, with mozzies only disappearing for July. There is no Spring any more, just a series of heatwaves. Previously, it used to be hot, then a massive thunderstorm would come around 3, possibly with hail as well as rain for an hour, then it would be hot again. Now we are seeing weeks at a time of heatwaves with a bit of rain inbetween. We are hoping for more rain, but not all dumped on us in one day, causing considerable flooding last December - one of our biggest tourist attraction, the Sterkfontein caves, were closed right until recently, we need to check whether they have reopened yet, it's been very disappointing for our overseas guests.

1st video of yours I've watched. Great presentation and very interesting. It sorta felt like we're learning about the polar vortex with you rather than just facts about.

My family lived in Lima, Peru from 1961 to 1965. Everyone told us about El Nino "every seven years". We all thought it was just a local phenomenon that affected the western coast of South America, but no one realized that it was the engine that drives the world's weather. In those 5 years we had 1 weak El Nino and 1 strong one. And we were told that every 50 to 100 years there could be a Super Nino and the flooding could destroy a civilization.

Interesting , Thank You. Being prepared is a good thing

Well, that helped. As a Canadian I was confused by the warnings of a polar vortex collapse/cold winter occurring simultaneously during a potentially strong El Niño, which of course brings warmer weather. Thanks for making the connection.

Excellent video 👍 Thank you 💜

Thanks again for all your hard work and research to bring us this information.

That was the best 'Coriolis effect' explanation I have seen. Your videos are always really good. Thank you for sharing

Everything I was told so far about this winter, was that we were supposed to be getting warmer air in Canada this winter. Made my depression about winter mellow out. This brings is back again in massive amounts. But I appreciate having authentic information.

So there you are on a merry go round, and you smell a fart that follows you in a vortex because of the venturi effect, and you realize, that fart came from that kid on the innermost segment of merry go round wolfing back handfuls of cotton candy after the chilidogs.The winds of dietary change. Watchout where the chilidogs go and dont breathe in that yellow air pocket!!

i've seen what you describe in action over the past couple of weeks when warm air that goes from south america towards europe suddenly stops going east and instead either gets sucked back towards Canada or goes straight up north towards the north pole. After this happens the cold front over Russia / Scandinavia expends dramatically for a bit. So far what stands out to me is that even when this happens there's just too much heat so the effect is short lived and somehow gets overestimated by all of the weather forecasts.

Awesome channel. Thank you. I love how you say '2 bidavinci'!

I liked your descriptive explanation. I subscribed. Thanks for the good video.

very interesting Video, thank you!

I've heard that overall, meteorologists are anticipating a warmer than usual winter in the middle & northern tier of the US, wetter in the southest, but with the possibility for occasional jet stream disruptions that could harshly punctuate from time to time.

Great graphics & explanation, thanks.

You did NOT have a Hurricane in So Cal. You did get the remains of one with gale-strength winds, which happens every 4-7 years there. It was strong but not unique. Further the number overall of strong storms hitting the US is DOWN, not up, Just look up the weather data from NOAA

A short cold end of March on Eurpoe can kill all fruit production industry. 3 nights are enough. In this video you explained atmospheric circulation wonderfully. Just one missing point at the beginning : top of clouds equator are 17000m while at the poles it's 10000m this altitude difference, helped by Earth ovoid shape drive the equator to north pole natural gravity slope for air direction. Convection make hot air go up, and Coriolis effect deflect its trajectory. There is also some effect from mountains. This is why all in the south is not a miror of the north, south pole is ground surrounded by sea, while noth pole is sea surrounded by ground. But overall your version is one of the best available on youtube. (and presented in a compact enough form)

EPIC episode mate. Pls more meteorology and weather science content!

A remarkably clear explanation of complex processes, congrats! Makes me wonder what will happen here in the Netherlands, this winter!!

Ricky, off topic question... can you list or share the hanging rope lantern lights you have in the background? I'd love to get some too. Lol. Your show is helpful and love the different takes on new tech and information! Love it! ❤

Significant variations during winter are the norm. Diaries from early settlers in the Montana Territory (1860 to 1889 statehood and 1900) tell of both mild winters and bitterly cold winters and very wet winters and very dry winters. The takeaway is - be prepared to handle the extremes.

This is the best, concise explanation of the polar vortex and its potential effects I have ever heard...

I love how you worked the ad for Beam into your life and into your video.... smoothe!!!!

these are really good videos, hats off

Great videos. If you liked learning about polar vortexes, I think you’d like learning about the thermohaline circulation system.

In Canada we call this “winter”.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Thanks for clarifying this area.

Best thing you said was “no … model can accurately predict…’

this has happened, and it constantly happens. I've seen -30 in the midwest due to this.

Looking forward to it. We really need some cold and snow up here.

Thank you for the info I'm glad it's going to get cold. It needs to get cold. Bring on the cold and snow. The recently warmer than normal temps for my area is disturbing

That sounded complex. A very interesting video.

I think remember scientists being really worried about this quite some 'years' ago, before they were sure, and right back then, they were incredibly concerned. We used to get a "lot..." colder winters in Britain, so I don't really agree with you on this aspect of it. And shocking if that's true that our average winter temps are now only 2-7C? Yes, I'm "not" doubting the truth on polar vortex's, but still winters on average used to be far colder than they are now.

I experienced the January 2019 polar vortex collapse in Chicago. It brought the coldest temperature I ever experienced: -18F!

grerat job, with the title 'Polar Vortex Collapse' I came in here half expecting no mention of the strat warm, but you covered it well, THANKS

At 5:20 and 6:15 in your video the animation discusses the Coriolis Effect on Earth. In the animation the Earth is shown rotating in the wrong direction. The Earth’s surface should be moving towards the east (to the right as viewed in the video). Thank you for your work on this topic.

I love how you bring detailed, logical explanations, and YT brings a lot of point-blank statements.

An exciting adventure of many live or die senarios guestimates so have a drink and chill. Very exciting I was almost on the edge of my seat on the videos journey. What a ride. Thank God I lived!!!

I remember that storm in 2012 and 2013. That sucked because the roads were pure ice sheets for like a week and a half. Literally 10 miles an hour down the roads and you still occasionally fish tail. I had to go to college. I just let it roll. Didn't press on the gas after the initial acceleration from a dead stop. Had to take turns wide and slow. I'll be putting some kitty litter in the back of my truck now because that back end is light and I got stuck once that winter. 2 guys helped me get it out of a snow drift thankfully.

Check the weather patterns for Febuary 2011 in OKLAHOMA. We had temps of -5 & lower statewide. Vinita, OK where I live hit -35, however we don't have a weather reporting station as does Nowata where -31 was recorded. That temp officially became the coldest day in Oklahoma history

I hope we get cold weather soon, it's been so warm here we're only getting rain and no snow. In fact most of BC is experiencing the same problem.

I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Lake Superior. Last year we had over 220 inches of snow and I loved every inch of it. So far this year, we’ve had less than an inch!!!! I’ve been really bummed and it looks like we won’t even have a white Christmas 😢. But with this polar vortex collapse coming, maybe we’ll at least get a good amount of snow in 2024.

Notice that in the U.S., the most severe weather from these sorts of disruptions occurs mid-content and the north-east corner. And the mid-continent weather can drop all the way down to the southern tip of Texas. And that ignores the hurricane danger that seeds in Africa. The west coast is moderated by the Pacific Ocean, but the Atlantic is much narrower as well as on the other side of the cyclic weather patterns that develop. For example, hurricanes in the northern hemisphere rotate counter-clockwise, but that means that east-coast weather systems crossing the Atlantic have the potential to reinforce cold air masses to the north and bring them down. The dreaded "nor'easter". On the West coast, however, that same rotation tends to reinforce warmer air masses from the south. But now look at the Pacific ocean... as you move north, the Pacific gets cold very quickly, so warmer air masses brought in from the south are pretty much guaranteed to get broken up as they move north. Which is what happened to the Typhoon that almost made it to San Diego. It turned into a tropical storm very quickly in the space of just a few hundred miles and was already essentially breaking up by the time it impacted California. The west coast is thus fairly well moderated by both storm rotation and the Pacific ocean. As you move north, cold weather systems from Alaska gain more penetrating power, but they hit a roadblock due to storm rotation and have a fairly difficult time moving southward unless they come in over land from the north rather than over the Pacific ocean from the north west. The east coast doesn't have this synergy. The Atlantic tends to reinforce cold weather systems coming from the north and north east due the storm rotation which means that disruptions of those northern weather systems can wreak havoc. And the same goes for mid-continent storms. Without water to moderate the storm, a broken jet stream and allow systems to go straight through the center of the country all the way to the southern tip of Texas... which is what happened during the Texas Freeze a few years ago. -Matt

I really like your videos, you get right to the point without a bunch of fluff

What you don't mention in this video is what the beaufort Gryer in the arctic is doing. it's looks like it is finally starting to release it's freshwater melt buildup and that can slow down the AMOC and cause a disruption in the polar vortex big time!.

that was really good. I know a lot about coriolus, climate, jet stream and I still learned a lot. I have noticed that in el nino years in the northwest, we can get a blast in early March just when we think spring is coming early. So it makes a lot of sense.

Good explainer video. Thanks!

Thank you! I have heard lots of info about "the polar vortex" yet could not really explain its effects to my friends. Your demo with the top was excellent! The tie in with El Nino was finally clear also! All in all a very good 15 minutes spent watching a well done dissertation. Five stars! I stumbled onto this site and have just subscribed.

great video and explanation

Polar vortex normally has waves to it called Rossby waves so it isn't so perfectly round. And then yes periodically breaking down sending cold air south. As pointed out this happens from time to time. No big alarmism. Just 'weather'.

Fascinating! Thanks for a very well put together video and all the research that went into it. Very enlightening !

The way I picture the increased waviness of the jet stream is that with polar amplification (temps at the poles rising faster than elsewhere) the temperature difference between the poles and the equator is less, so the jet stream, like a river of air, sees a less steep slope, and like a river, will meander more. Fwiw Jennifer Francis was the first to publish on how this affects extreme weather in 2012.

I think the idea of a collapsing polar vortex was the inspiration behind the movie "Day after tomorrow"

I live in the UK and it's nice to get a bit of snow now and then. Not good for all those people who freeze though of course.

I personally want to thank you for your time and effort in creating this video. It was very informative without a political bias being crammed down our throats, for that I appreciate it very much.

Up here in Ontario, we're having a very mild winter. Still no snow on the ground where I am, and that's expected to carry through the season. Also, it was a very mild summer. I work outside, so while the media was talking about it being the hottest summer ever, I wasn't feeling it at all.

Thank you!

Lets remember to come back to this video next February!

This aged like milk lmao. Even a slow polar vortex can't compete with the warm air. It's not 1980 anymore, the planet and especially the Northern Hemisphere is much, much warmer!

I live in canada and miss the snow. Its December and we haven’t had a snow fall yet.

Great visuals ...made it easy to understand

Great narration on the subject , thank you for enlightenment

TL;DR; Weather. On other news, here in Northern Europe we've been having the coldest november/december in a long time. awesome weather infact, instead of wet and dark, strongly freezing, snow. Looks nice, and rather calm, all the snow makes for better mood :)

I just want to point out the fact that I'm in my late 40s and I have lived through all of the ones on that list except for the 1800s one. Admittedly, I was only a year old for the 1877 one, but my parents and my older siblings discuss it often. It's a matter of fact, the joke was that there were a lot of babies born the following year, including a good friend of mine who is a 2 years younger than I am. The point being that it's really not that big of a deal. I grew up near West point and you know we've had 20, 30 inches of snow. The truth is I think the one is real and I think we get less snow there now than we did in the 70s and 80s. Certainly then in the 80s that I remember and it's not that big of a deal. It's like okay, we'll have some extra snow. Make sure your snow blower is good. Make sure you're generator is good. That kind of stuff. Folks. This isn't a big deal. Get some emergency food for a couple days

Thank you Ricky!

A good test for all those heat pumps that I'm genuinely interested in installing, but have no illusions that they'll make life easier

I think you left out the most important part of this whole thing: that climate change due to fossil fuel burning is driving increasing temperatures in the polar regions, and increasing the likelihood of polar vortex collapses.

Also, and more importantly, how will the Cybertruck be able to perform in this weather?

Very Good and TY

Its so cute seeing someone try to explain an impossibility

It happened 500 years ago . Don't you remember ? lol

lmao weather changes

Nice visuals that help explain this complex topic for us lay people, especially the relationships between Corelis forces against polar vortex and the subdivided areas of warm and cold upper wind while in an El Niňo. Am sharing with others. Thanks! This coming Sunday through Wednesday we will have severe weather along the east coast with up to 70 knots in coastal Atlantic in a cyclone that will bring much rain.

I lived in San Diego during the El Nino of 97/98..we had crazy rain & flooding of the beachfront area where we lived (Imperial Beach), meanwhile, my in-laws in Colorado had the "blizzard of 97" . I now live in Southern Colorado, we usually get little to no snow compared to the Denver area. So far this Winter, we have received FAR more snow than our northern neighbors. 2 days ago, nearly a foot of accumulation while Denver got a dusting. I'm preparing for another el Nino blizzard this year.

On May 12, 2013, the sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 10 p.m. EDT. This flare is classified as an X1. 7, making it the first X-class flare of 2013. The flare was also associated with another solar phenomenon, called a coronal mass ejection (CME) that can send solar material out into space. Praise the 🌞 God's

so no global warming this year...what will politicians talk about now.

Great information! You have my approval as a Weather Tracker 😂👍🏼

The last time we had a drought relative to El Nino was in the winter of 88/89. The winter of 89 was cold enough but, snow was never deeper than 4 inches. Total precipitation was less in 89 than 88. 88 was the year Yellowstone but down. Wis did not see any rain between may 11th July 10th. Temps were mid to high 80's and 20 to 25mph wind 3 times a week.

Love how you think you're smart enough to give us all the answers though lol

Coming through Hereford Texas like a freight train 🚂 for days; dumping snow and almost flash freezing 🥶 everything.

You should’ve booked further back the week of Christmas of last year in southern and middle Illinois… Not like Chicago, but 300 miles south of there it was -20° for like five days or something… It was ridiculous!

I have been reading over the last couple of days that the El Nino is rapidly dissipating, so if true and given what this video said we should have few worries about Polar Vortex disruption this year!