What is the polar vortex?

A large swirl of cold air and winds around a pole

What happened in Texas in February 2021?

A severe freeze caused major power outages

Polar Vortex Quiz: Arctic Air and Winter Cold Outbreaks

This polar vortex quiz bundles up for a blast of Arctic air. Play 10 interactive questions on the band of winds circling the poles, its high stratospheric and lower parts, sudden stratospheric warming, wavy jet streams, Arctic air spilling south, the 2014 rise of the term in the news, the Midwest freeze of 2019 and the Texas freeze of 2021.

Start Polar Vortex Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

What
What is the polar vortex?
Season
When is the polar vortex strongest?
Layers
Where does the polar vortex extend?
Warm
What can disrupt the vortex?
Spill
What can happen when the vortex weakens?
Jet
What shape does the jet stream take then?
News
When did the term become widely popular in the news?
2019
Which region froze in a severe January 2019 outbreak?
Texas
What happened in Texas in February 2021?
South
Does the Southern Hemisphere have a polar vortex?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What is the polar vortex?
Answer: A large swirl of cold air and winds around a pole
It exists year-round.
Q2: When is the polar vortex strongest?
Answer: In winter
Long polar nights cool the air.
Q3: Where does the polar vortex extend?
Answer: High into the stratosphere
It has upper and lower parts.
Q4: What can disrupt the vortex?
Answer: Sudden stratospheric warming
Temperatures high up can soar.
Q5: What can happen when the vortex weakens?
Answer: Arctic air spills south
Cold outbreaks follow.
Q6: What shape does the jet stream take then?
Answer: Wavy, with deep dips
Dips let cold air plunge.
Q7: When did the term become widely popular in the news?
Answer: Around 2014
A cold outbreak made headlines.
Q8: Which region froze in a severe January 2019 outbreak?
Answer: The US Midwest
Chicago saw extreme cold.
Q9: What happened in Texas in February 2021?
Answer: A severe freeze caused major power outages
Arctic air reached far south.
Q10: Does the Southern Hemisphere have a polar vortex?
Answer: Yes, around Antarctica
It is usually stronger and steadier.

When Arctic Air Breaks Loose

The polar vortex is a large swirl of cold air and strong winds circling each pole. It is strongest in winter, when long polar nights cool the air, and it extends high into the stratosphere with a lower part near the jet stream. The Southern Hemisphere has one around Antarctica that is usually stronger and steadier.

Sometimes sudden stratospheric warming, a rapid rise in temperatures high above the pole, disrupts the vortex. It can weaken or split, and the jet stream becomes wavy with deep dips that let Arctic air spill far south.

The term became widely popular in the news around 2014. In January 2019 a severe outbreak froze the US Midwest, and in February 2021 Arctic air reached far into Texas, causing a severe freeze and major power outages. Scientists study how a warming Arctic may affect the vortex.

What This Quiz Teaches

Weather fans will enjoy these questions.

What the polar vortex is
When it is strongest
What disrupts it
What happens when it weakens
Which outbreaks made news

Did You Know?

Forecasters watch stratospheric temperatures.
Europe also gets cold spells from it.
Wind chill makes outbreaks dangerous.
Pipes freeze during outbreaks.
It does not cause every cold snap.