DENVER — It’s got kind of a fantastic name, but the polar vortex may not be exactly what you think.
The polar vortex is swirling air spinning high in the atmosphere above the North Pole. It's usually clocked between 100 and 150 miles per hour, and very cold.
As long as that air keeps up its pace, the cold air stays contained far from the United States.
Just below that is the temperamental polar jet stream, that also helps contain that cold air, but if the wind speeds in the vortex and the jet stream slow down, then containment can be lost, allowing frigid air from the north to spill free, deep into North America.
This time, it is actually a multi-lobed polar vortex intrusion, because another branch of this blob is stretching down into parts of Europe and Asia at the same time.
Colorado got clipped by the vortex on its way down, contributing to a strong cold front and a very stormy Monday, but lucky for us, we stay on the fringe of this wintry event.
So, keep our friends to the east in mind as we bask in mostly sunshine for the rest of the week.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS | Science is cool