What is the ‘polar vortex’ that’s pushing dangerously frigid air to Texas?

The cold front bearing down on Texas Thursday is bringing with it frigid temperatures as well as wind chills down to -15 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

So, why are we getting chilled to the bone this far south? It has something to do with the “polar vortex.”

What is a ‘Polar Vortex?’

• It is a large area of cold air above both the North and South poles, according to weather.gov. It is always in the Earth’s poles, weakening in the summer and gaining strength in the winter.
• The term “vortex” means the flow of air is going counter clockwise, keeping the colder air near the poles.
• In winter, the polar vortex expands and the jet stream carries the frigid air southward.
• Texas feels the chill of Arctic air when the jet stream dips low enough.
• This happens regularly, often several times a winter.

This weather phenomenon is not new. It’s that the term polar vortex has been popularized by television meteorologists explaining the blast of cold air reaching down to more temperate regions.

The vortex sits thousands of feet above Earth. But when cold air gets blasted southward, that action is caused by the expansion of the polar vortex.

This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 10:31 AM.