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Everyone is bundled up
Finally it’s the beginning of May and the snow has finally stopped. Elsa checks the weather channel only to find that it’s still very cold outside. She puts on her winter jacket and attempts to head outside. Brrrrrrr ……… it’s still cold outside and some snow is still on the ground but she needs to get some fresh air so she…
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The Polar Vortex
All the way back home Elsa thinks about the polar vortex and what that could be. She walks in the front door and takes off her winter clothes and heads on over to her computer. ‘What is the polar vortex? The polar vortex is a gigantic circular upper-air weather pattern in the Arctic that envelops the North Pole. It's a…
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What happens when the vortex splits?
Elsa continues to read the same article. ‘One segment usually moves over Siberia and the other moves over North America. Once that happens, the jet stream in the troposphere over the Atlantic moves to the south. Cold Arctic air that’s normally corralled by the jet stream around the pole is then able to go into the middle…
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Polar vortex: The science behind the cold
‘Atmospheric scientist Aditi Sheshadri discusses how the polar vortex works, what drives its behavior and why it seems to bring storms and bitter cold more frequently than in past decades. The polar vortex forms every winter because of the temperature difference between the equator and the poles. In the polar stratosphere,…
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Polar Vortex explained in 2 minutes
That’s it! Elsa has to walk away from her computer for a bit. She feels an eye strain from reading too much. Just then her phone rings and it’s Tiffi. “Hi Elsa, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been trying to find some good articles for your story,” says Tiffi. “There is much talk about a polar vortex and how it’s…
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Are Europe's winter weather extremes linked to global warming?
‘From one extreme to another, the temperatures across Europe have been on a rollercoaster journey this winter. Greece or Spain have experienced some of the heaviest snowfall in several decades, temperatures have been exceptionally mild for the season in western Europe and there's been freezing cold in the east. So, why has…
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The polar vortex now
‘In late December, a record-setting high-pressure area in Mongolia and a hurricane-force low-pressure system in the North Pacific sent upward moving atmospheric waves into the stratosphere, disrupting the high-altitude stratospheric polar vortex and causing a sudden stratospheric warming event. This warming event was so…
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What is that green stuff?
Once upon a time in the Dairy District there lived this raccoon named Rancid. He was not a very nice raccoon because he loved to steal Mother Hen’s eggs and Amelia’s cropsies. The problem that he experienced with all his stealing was that he never got away with it. Amelia really loves her farming and loves to grow…
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Kimmy finds these green splotches
Kimmy lives in Soda World. She is 10 years old and both her and her sister Tiffi were adopted by Mr. Toffee when they were very young. Tiffi remained in Candy Town, while Kimmy moved to Soda World. The girls are very close and keep in touch quite often. When Tiffi goes on an adventure in the Candy Kingdom or meets up with…
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The Cotton Candy Castle has blotches too!
As she continues her walk, she appears to be more and more curious about how they got there. As she turns the corner she finds herself at Cotton Candy Castle. Oh look, there is Genie Jellybeanie! Kimmy gets very excited thinking that maybe he knows what these green splotches are. Wait a second, what’s going on? Those…
