We are often reminded of the frigid chills created by the polar vortex when extreme cold fronts descend into densely populated areas, often during the winter months.
In a strange weather phenomenon, that vortex suddenly started spinning in the wrong direction, and Knewz.com has learned it caused an “ozone spike” above the North Pole.
Spaceweather.com reported that the polar vortex reversed direction suddenly on March 4, and while the phenomenon is expected, the speed of the reversal was the sixth fastest such occurrence since 1979. It also created an “ozone spike” that was the strongest since records began that year.
It is the second polar vortex reversal of 2024, with a smaller occurrence happening in January, creating a cold snap in parts of America.
Experts say the reversal is unlikely to cause a massive freeze at lower latitudes—partly because it is already slowing—but it was created by a “sudden stratospheric warming event” above the North Pole, causing an “ozone spike.”
The polar vortex reverses when naturally occurring waves caused by the Earth’s rotation break into the polar stratosphere, or the region in the atmosphere above where commercial flights can fly safely but below where most meteors disintegrate.
When the polar waves break into the stratosphere, they accelerate the transportation of ozone from the tropics to the Arctic and cause a stratospheric warming of upwards of 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
The polar vortex is showing signs of slowing, and experts predict it will return to its normal counterclockwise direction soon.
While sea ice continues to decline, with March 2024’s maximum ice levels measuring the 14th-lowest on record, the vortex itself did not appear to cause any dramatic Arctic weather events beyond the general global warming trend.
A standard polar vortex features stratospheric winds that reach speeds as high as 155 mph, or the speed of a Category 5 hurricane. Those extreme winds trap cold temperatures in the Arctic, which keep global temperatures further south more moderate.
When the vortex weakens, frigid Arctic air breaks through and heads further south in a polar jet stream, causing deep freezes and unseasonably cold temperatures.
Polar vortexes have recently entered mainstream American consciousness, as seemingly annual deep freezes have become part of the U.S. winter experience.
Researchers are mixed about whether weakening polar vortexes will become more likely as global warming continues (February 2024 was yet again the hottest month of February on record).
The theory is that warming weather causes a “torquing” effect that increases disruptions in the polar vortex. However, they have also found that the connection between strange weather events and polar vortexes diminishes over longer time frames, suggesting it could simply result from natural variability.
The vortexes are linked to the El Niño or La Niña weather patterns, and they are more likely during El Niño periods when the Earth’s oceans naturally warm.
The planet is currently nearing the end of a massive El Niño period that began in June 2023 and is expected to be finished in May or June 2024 before we transition to a La Niña period in fall 2024.