Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2014
DOI
10.1002/2014GL060285
Publication Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
41
Issue
10
Pages
3602-3608
Abstract
January 2014 will be remembered for the sensationalized media usage of the term "polar vortex" which coincided with several polar air outbreaks. A United States polar vortex (USPV) perspective is presented to better understand the January spatial and temporal variability of this regional component of the Northern Hemisphere circumpolar vortex. Use of the monthly mean 5460 m isohypse to represent the location of the USPV extent and area revealed that the spatial features of the January 2014 USPV were not extreme relative to certain 1948–2013 Januaries. Furthermore, the Arctic Oscillation (AO), Pacific-North American (PNA) Pattern, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are all linked to southernmost latitude of the USPV trough, but the PDO and PNA are most closely associated with the longitude at which this latitude occurs. The AO is closely related to the area of the United States enclosed within the USPV.
Original Publication Citation
Ballinger, T. J., Allen, M. J., & Rohli, R. V. (2014). Spatiotemporal analysis of the January Northern Hemisphere circumpolar vortex over the contiguous United States. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(10), 3602-3608. doi: 10.1002/2014GL060285
Repository Citation
Ballinger, Thomas J.; Allen, Michael J.; and Rohli, Robert V., "Spatiotemporal Analysis of the January Northern Hemisphere Circumpolar Vortex Over the Contiguous United States" (2014). Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications. 1.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/politicalscience_geography_pubs/1