The July 15 weather map is located above. A blast of very cool air of Canadian origin invaded a large part of the United States early this morning, setting record lows in its wake. So far, I've counted at least 29 locations that tied or set record lows this morning, some as far south as Greenwood, MS. Joplin, MO set an all-time July record low of 50 degrees. Why, even the ice box capital of the U.S., International Falls MN, set a record this morning of 39 degrees.
This cool air looks to stick around for a few more days. For the past week, meteorologists have been advertising a Polar Vortex (where have we heard that before? Hmm) that would bring a refreshing respite from the summer heat. That's great and all. I am all for cooler weather in the middle of summer.
However, does the term 'Polar Vortex' really need to be used, especially in July? I recall not less than a few July's in my lifetime where we had a period of cooler, refreshing weather, and it was never called a Polar Vortex. Meteorologists would just draw attention to the fact that the air mass was of Canadian origin and enjoy it while it lasts.
For example, it seems many have forgotten that temperatures for the last eight days of July 2013 were well below average for many locations. Look at this map from July 28, perhaps the peak of the coolest air.
In my opinion, this map looks very similar to the one earlier. However, the core of the coolest air does make it farther south than the one from last July. Greenwood MS, Fayetteville AR, and McAlester OK were a few of the ones from this year that were cooler than last year.
Of the 29 locations that either tied or set record lows this morning, I checked on how cool these locations were during last year's cool down. Over half reported cooler readings than this year's Polar Vortex. In addition, over 900 record lows were either set or tied during this 8-day stretch, peaking on July 28 when over two dozen locations reported all-time record lows for the entire month of July.
Yet, there was no mention of any Polar Vortex that caused this significant stretch of below-average temperatures. Why? Could it be that meteorologists were content with just reporting that the cooler weather was of Canadian origin and just left it at that?
Now, fast-forward to this year. February 2014 saw a rather impressive anomaly that produced a chunk of cold air from the Arctic regions. While it's true that temperatures were at times bitterly cold, there were not too many record cold readings that would label this event as historic. Nevertheless, the term 'Polar Vortex' instilled as much anxiety in people as Darth Vader to the Rebels. So, why not use it again, this time in the middle of summer?
I think it worked. The sexy term garnered a great deal of attention. But you know what? Big deal. Now, if I would have had snow flurries this morning when I awoke, then, yeah, that would be a big deal.
The term Polar Vortex definitely does not belong in the summertime vernacular. I think it's just a media sensationalism stunt aimed at attracting viewership. And it's a shame that some meteorologists got caught up in it as well. A blip in the polar jet stream is normal. Perhaps mentioning an anomaly in the polar jet stream is all that would be needed, or the all-familiar "of Canadian origin" would suffice. But, give the Polar Vortex thing a rest already.
MS
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