What is an Arctic cold front?
An Arctic Cold Front is a boundary between arctic and polar air masses. An Arctic air mass forms, when the air above a snow/ice covered surface cools down due to very low solar heating and strong heat emission from the surface. Consequently, it is only found above the polar ice areas.
What is causing the Arctic front?
But what exactly is the polar vortex? And what causes it? The polar vortex is an area of low pressure—a wide expanse of swirling cold air—that is parked in polar regions. During winter, the polar vortex at the North Pole expands, sending cold air southward.
What year was polar vortex?
The one that occurred January 2014 is similar to many other cold outbreaks that have occurred in the past, including several notable colder outbreaks in 1977, 1982, 1985 and 1989.
Where is the Arctic front?
Over North America, the Arctic Front zone runs through central Alaska and northern Canada. In the North Atlantic, this frontal zone is located off the southern shore of Greenland; it runs through the Greenland-Iceland Strait and on to Spitzbergen.
What caused the Arctic Blast 2021?
Plunging polar jet stream sent the polar vortex stateside The 205 hours of sub-freezing temperatures from February 10th to February 19th was really only possible because of one atmospheric phenomenon: the polar vortex.
What’s colder north or south pole?
The Short Answer: Both the Arctic (North Pole) and the Antarctic (South Pole) are cold because they don’t get any direct sunlight. However, the South Pole is a lot colder than the North Pole.
What is an arctic cold front?
Arctic cold fronts are the king of the meteorological world when it comes to the plunging temperatures in the wake of their passage. Every year they sweep through parts of the Lower 48 states, often ushering in the coldest temperatures of the season. December is ushering in the first blasts of arctic air this winter season across the United States.
What is a blue norther cold front?
An arctic cold front, locally known as a Blue Norther in that part of the country, swept into the Texas panhandle town. A noon it was 67 degrees, pleasant for an early December day at lunchtime.
How do you know when a cold front is coming?
One of the favorite maps among meteorologists when an arctic cold front is sweeping through the country is the 24-hour temperature change. Frequently you’ll see locations 40 or more degrees colder than the exact same time the day before.
How cold did it get in Denver during the cold front?
As an arctic cold front moved southwestward into the Denver area on the morning of Nov. 30, temperatures varied wildly across the metropolitan area. Places just ahead of the front touched 60 degrees while locations just a few miles away plummeted into the 20s.