Summary

Polar vortex disruptions, bringing Arctic air deep into the U.S., are happening more frequently due to climate change.

The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, shrinking the temperature gap between north and south and destabilizing the jet stream.

This “stretching” or shifting of the polar vortex causes frigid air to move southward.

Despite overall global warming, colder outbreaks remain possible due to these atmospheric changes.

Experts highlight this paradoxical connection between warming and extreme cold events.