Polar Vortex 2019 - Arctic Weather Plunges Into North America

Air temperatures at 2 meters (around 6.5 feet above the ground) at 09:00 Universal Time (4 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) on January 29, 2019, as represented by the Goddard Earth Observing System Model. GEOS is a global atmospheric model that uses mathematical equations run through a supercomputer to represent physical processes. The animation shows the same model data from January 23-29. The figures above are not traditional forecasts, but a reanalysis of model input—that is, a representation of atmospheric conditions on those days. Measurements of temperature, moisture, wind speeds, and directions, and other conditions are compiled from NASA satellites and other sources and then added to the model to closely simulate observed reality. Note how some portions of the Arctic are close to the freezing point—significantly warmer than usual for the dark of mid-winter—while masses of cooler air plunge toward the interior of North America. You can almost feel that cold in this natural-color image, acquired on January 27, 2019, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite. Cloud streets and lake-effect snow stretch across the scene, as frigid Arctic winds blew over the Great Lakes. Source: https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=144489