In the past week, we have seen record-shattering wind chills from 40 to 65 degrees below zero in some large regions. These temperatures are so extreme it could cause frostbite on exposed skin in five minutes or less.   

  However, this weather will not last long. This weekend, many parts of Ohio and the Midwest with have temperatures of 60° and above. This will cause major temperate whiplash in these regions.   

  The polar vortex was caused by “a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding the Earth’s North and South poles. The term vortex refers to the counterclockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air close to the poles (left globe). Often during winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the polar vortex will become less stable and expand, sending cold Arctic air southward over the United States with the jet stream (right globe)” says the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association).

   It is widely believed that these frigid temperatures in the United States are caused due to climate change. Areas near the North Pole are warming more than 2x faster than the rest of the globe. When hotter air floods into the Arctic Circle, it “weakens the polar vortex, displacing cold air masses southward into Europe, Asia and the United States. You might think of it as a once tight-knit circulation unraveling, slinging pieces of cold air outward”. These theories have been tested and published in the Journal of the American Meteorological Society, further backing up the claims.