From SpaceWeather.com (also on blogroll at right) March 21:
....THE POLAR VORTEX IS SPINNING BACKWARDS: Earlier this month, atmospheric scientists noticed something unusual in the Arctic stratosphere. The polar vortex was spinning backward.
"The vortex changed direction around March 4th," reports Dr. Amy Butler, author of NOAA's Polar Vortex Blog. "It was a substantial reversal, reaching -20.5 m/s a few days ago, which puts it in the top 6 strongest such events since 1979."
Two weeks later, it is still spinning backwards. What's going on?
"Atmospheric planetary waves have been breaking in the polar stratosphere, increasing its temperature," says Butler. "We call this a 'Sudden Stratospheric Warming' event, and it can cause the vortex to change direction.'"
In recent years, many people have heard the phrase "polar vortex" because of the effect it can have on winter weather. When the polar vortex is strong and stable, it helps confine cold air to polar regions. When the vortex weakens or becomes disturbed, cold air spills out to lower latitudes...
....MUCH MORE—this link is to the page as it existed on March 21. For the most recent page: SpaceWeather.com.
Where we see:
CME IMPACT SPARKS SEVERE GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Arriving hours earlier than expected, a CME struck Earth's magnetic field on March 24th at 1437 UT. The impact opened a crack in our planet's magnetosphere and sparked a severe G4-class geomagnetic storm--the strongest since Sept. 2017....
Please continue moving toward the exits.
