{"id":294671,"date":"2024-01-12T11:22:46","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T10:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294671"},"modified":"2024-01-12T11:22:49","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T10:22:49","slug":"the-polar-vortex-wobbled-in-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294671","title":{"rendered":"The Polar Vortex Wobbled in\u00a0December"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Spaceweather.com<\/msreadoutspan><\/msreadoutspan><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By DR.TONY<\/msreadoutspan> PHILLIPS<\/msreadoutspan><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan. 9, 2024:<\/strong>\u00a0(Spaceweather.com<\/a>) Last month, sky watchers in Europe saw something rare and beautiful. A giant bank of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) escaped the Arctic Circle, and for more than a week they filled skies with rainbow color as far south as Italy. In the Italian comune of Sanfr\u00e8 (latitude +45N), Pablo Javier Lucero was able to photograph the clouds at all hours of the day:<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cUtterly incredible!\u201d says Lucero. \u201cI first saw the clouds at sunset on Dec. 22nd. After talking with a friend of mine, Jorgelina Alvarez, a meteorologist, we realized that these weren\u2019t ordinary iridescent clouds<\/a>, but rather Type II polar stratospheric clouds. My surprise was gigantic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprise is the correct reaction. Normally, Earth\u2019s stratosphere has no clouds at all<\/strong>. Only when the temperature drops to a staggeringly-low -85 C can widely-spaced water molecules assemble into icy polar stratospheric clouds. With colors that rival auroras, PSCs are considered to be the most beautiful clouds on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the outbreak, Spaceweather.com received hundreds of photos<\/a> of PSCs. Curiously, they all came from Europe. Not a single cloud was sighted in North America or Asia. Why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy Butler of NOAA\u2019s Chemical Sciences Laboratory has the answer: \u201cThe\u00a0polar vortex<\/a>\u00a0can wobble like a top, and in December it was displaced towards Europe,\u201d she explains. \u201cYou can see this in the figure below from Zac Lawrence\u2019s website\u00a0stratobserve.com<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Cold air normally contained over the poles was carried by the wobbling vortex to mid-latitudes. Purple and green contours in the figure show where temperatures were cold enough for Type I<\/a> and Type II<\/a> PSCs, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the December outbreak of PSCs, which ended around Christmas, the polar stratosphere has warmed more than 30 degrees Celsius. Butler says this is probably the result of \u201ca strong planetary wave<\/a> breaking in the stratosphere.\u201d Wave energy warmed the air and dispersed the rainbow-colored clouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clouds might return. As January unfolds, the polar stratospheric vortex is still tilted toward mid-latitudes in Europe. If the stratosphere cools again, PSCs could re-appear over many populated areas. You can monitor the situation with daily temperature reports right here on Spaceweather.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommended:<\/strong>\u00a0Amy Butler writes a great Polar Vortex Blog for NOAA.\u00a0Check it out<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Spaceweather.com) Last month, sky watchers in Europe saw something rare and beautiful. A giant bank of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) escaped the Arctic Circle, and for more than a week they filled skies with rainbow color as far south as Italy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":294675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":" (Spaceweather.com) Last month, sky watchers in Europe saw something rare and beautiful. A giant bank of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) escaped the Arctic Circle, and for more than a week they filled skies with rainbow color as far south as Italy. 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