This year truly was the year in which winter break never seemed to end. And that’s fine with me! Extremely cold temperatures shut down schools and businesses throughout Minnesota and the United States, affecting two hundred million people and cancelling flights across the country. Governor Mark Dayton closed all public schools in Minnesota due to the arctic rush, the first time such a closure has occurred in seventeen years. During much of this spectacle it was actually warmer in a freezer (most are set to -20 degrees Fahrenheit) than it was outside! But what is this insane climatic event? Climate scientists call this phenomenon the “Polar Vortex.”

The Polar Vortex is a swirling pattern of frigid air in the upper levels of the atmosphere, particularly the stratosphere. Found in the Arctic region near the North Pole, this weather makes it undesirable to live in northern Canada or Greenland, unless you are a polar bear! Weak, counterclockwise blasts of warm winds can cause the vortex to plummet south into the United States. Last winter, the Polar Vortex blasted into Europe, bringing freezing temperatures from the north. But, since this European cold spell did not affect Americans directly, it was not widely publicized.

Now, I am sure we are all hoping that the Polar Vortex will return in time next year to give us another extended Winter Break. And it just might if Earth’s warming trend continues. It appears that the extreme temperatures we experienced may be related to global warming. The rising temperatures of the planet, along with melting Arctic sea ice is likely to cause extreme climate patterns in the future. This could lead to extreme bouts of hot weather in summer and frigid periods in winter. If global warming continues, extreme cold snaps may continue to hamper schools and businesses in future winters to come. You could even say that in coming years, Mother Nature will be rather bi “polar”!