I've been watching the scenario unfold for over a week now, and I have to tell you I'm just plain scared. I don't know exactly what a Polar Vortex is; I just know it's bad. I'm guessing it's a bit like a black hole, only white, and really, really cold. I've seen the term popping up here and there in various National Weather Service forecast discussions, so I know it has to be more than just a rumor.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA400 AM PST WED JAN 24 2007. . . PERHAPS OF MORE IMPORTANCE THE 8-10 DAY ECMWF CONTINUES TO ADVERTISES THE HUDSON BAY POLAR VORTEX HOLDING STEADY . . .NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO925 PM CST FRI JAN 26 2007. . . WITH BOTH THE GFS/ECMWF POINTING TO A LARGE POLAR VORTEX BECOMING ESTABLISHED OVER HUDSON BAY . . .NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI325 PM CST FRI JAN 26 2007. . . LONG WAVE TROUGH AMPLIFIES OVER EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF CONUS WITH NEGATIVE ANOMOLY OF OVER 200 METERS OVER ENTIRE GREAT LAKES AND NEIGHBORING REGIONS BY 00Z/02. POLAR VORTEX CENTERED OVER NRN HUDSON BAY WITH MID LEVEL AIR FLOW ORIGINATING OVER 85 DEG N . . .
As you can see, the Hudson Bay figures prominently in the scenario, although I don't understand exactly why. I just know it isn't good. If the Polar Vortex is, in fact, some sort of white hole, then there must be a corresponding black hole feeding it. I'm only guessing here, but if the temperatures are any indication, the black hole would be somewhere near the Arctic Circle, or maybe Siberia. This would account for the whiteness, and the double-digit negative temperatures that seem to be hallmarks of this phenomenon.
Really, I think the only thing to do at this point is break out the thermal underwear, and stock up on hot chocolate and vodka. Make that rum; St. Bernards don't like vodka. Anyway, I guess we'll just have to wait and see if the vortex materializes. As you can see by the actual photo of a Polar Vortex above, they aren't difficult to spot. If everything is white outside your window, that's what you're looking at.
Good luck.
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