current event #2

Earth Science                                                                                      January 9, 2014

Current event                                                                                      Lilly Grass

 

           The New York Times article, Polar Vertex: Temperatures Fall Far, written by James Barron and Henry Fountain explains the reason for the recent frigid weather across the country. The polar vertex is an elliptical-shaped pattern of arctic winds blowing west to east and centered on the North Pole, which is causing this cold weather. James E. Overland, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said, "The polar vertex is normally very stable and keeps air bottled up." But recently a change developed in the vortex's winds, causing the arctic air to be released into the Midwest and into the plains, forcing the warmer air out. This cold air released forced temperatures down to -32 degrees in Fargo, N.D. on Monday January 6, 2014. In addition, Nashville's recorded temperature for Monday at 6 p.m. was 8 degrees, and dropped to 4 degrees later in the evening. On Monday in New York, the weather plummeted down to the single digits. "It's unusual, but it does happen," said David Stark, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at its office on Long Island. "The only difference in the 1920s, it went from the low 80s to the 20s." Scientists believe one reason for such drastic temperature decreases was that the change in the winds occurred later in the winter than in years before, causing the temperatures to drop to negative degrees, rather than to 20 degrees.

            This article clearly explains the history of the climate in America, and gives the audience a clear reason for the frigid weather we all have been experiencing in the past week. I believe it is very important for us to all be aware of why the temperatures have been dropping so rapidly.  I thought this article was a great choice because not only is it very interesting, but we can all relate to it because we have all experienced this crisp weather.

            Overall, this was a very informative and well written article. I liked how the authors got right to the point, and gave a lot historical facts about our climate. I also liked how they gave us exact temperatures in specific places at an exact time; it was very interesting to read about. Lastly, they did a nice job of getting information from lots of different locates, rather than just using temperatures from one location. One thing I would change is, include more information about the vortex, and go into more depth about why there was a change in the polar vertex.

           

 

            Barron, James, and Henry Fountain. "Polar Vortex: Temperatures Fall Far, Fast." Polar Vortex: Temperatures Fall Far, Fast. New York Times, 6 Jan. 2014. Web. 7 Jan. 2014.