

VIRTUAL | How the Polar Vortex Influences your life in Winter
LOCATION
SPEAKER: Dr. Simon H. Lee
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Columbia University, New York & Co-Editor-in-Chief of ‘Weather’
ABSTRACT: The polar vortex forms each winter in the stratosphere around 10-50km above the pole. In the Northern Hemisphere, it exhibits a high level of both intra- and inter-annual variability. Such variability is now known to have a large impact on the occurrence and predictability of different weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere. The last four winters have seen three major disruptions to the vortex (sudden stratospheric warmings) and one exceptionally strong vortex, with a range of real-world impacts.
In this talk, I introduced some of the dynamics of the stratosphere and discuss how the vortex can influence your life from more than 10km above your head – and how long-range forecasters can use the stratosphere to help them.
VIRTUAL | How the Polar Vortex Influences your life in Winter - Recording
SPEAKER: Dr. Simon H. Lee
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Columbia University, New York & Co-Editor-in-Chief of ‘Weather’
ABSTRACT: The polar vortex forms each winter in the stratosphere around 10-50km above the pole. In the Northern Hemisphere, it exhibits a high level of both intra- and inter-annual variability. Such variability is now known to have a large impact on the occurrence and predictability of different weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere. The last four winters have seen three major disruptions to the vortex (sudden stratospheric warmings) and one exceptionally strong vortex, with a range of real-world impacts.
In this talk, I introduced some of the dynamics of the stratosphere and discuss how the vortex can influence your life from more than 10km above your head – and how long-range forecasters can use the stratosphere to help them.