Book 7, Question 89
Why Do Cold Snaps Arrive So Suddenly?
Cold snaps arrive suddenly because a big mass of cold air can surge in behind a weather front. These cold air masses come from icy places, like near the poles or a snowy continent. When one crashes the party, temperatures can drop fast!
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 7
More fun facts
- The polar vortex is a huge swirl of cold, low-pressure air that sits over the polar regions.
- In winter, the polar vortex over the North Pole can expand and send cold air south.
- This happens fairly often and can bring outbreaks of very cold weather to the United States.
- In January 2019, a NOAA satellite photographed Arctic winds blowing clouds over the U.S. during a polar vortex event.
- Sometimes a cold snap gets blamed on the polar vortex even when the vortex isn't the cause.
Questions kids ask
What is the polar vortex?
A big swirl of cold, low-pressure air over the poles.
Does the polar vortex cause every cold snap?
No. Sometimes other weather patterns are to blame.