Polar vortex? Welcome to January

By Jamie Rieger

Polar vortex? What next! It seems the American news channels have to have a catch phrase for darn near everything these days. It’s January. It’s winter. It’s cold. And, yes it is colder than others, but I am sure if we looked hard enough we would find that there have in fact been warmer winters on record. Just a guess! Nothing scientific about that thought!

It seems the term ‘polar vortex’ has been around for quite a few years, but likely only used by meteorologists and other weather folk until this winter when the American northeast got a good blast of cold from the North Pole.

Sure, winter is hitting harder in some of the southern areas of the U.S. than they are accustomed to, but if there is one thing Mother Nature can be counted on for, it is her unpredictability.

Here, when the wind chills were below the -40 range, we were all still going about our days, albeit with a few extra layers of clothing!  To the south and east, they were shutting down schools and the weather was the “hot” news item of the day; often taking the entire broadcast.

We know how to dress, drive, and work in the cold because we are used to it. I, personally, don’t think I would want to live in a place where there is only one or two seasons of weather. For us to best appreciate the warmth of summer, we best tolerate the cold of winter, too. But, that’s just me. I don’t tolerate extreme heat well anyway, so perhaps it is best that way to begin with!

Back on topic..the polar vortex. It’s cold. It’s winter. It’s January. Us Albertans don’t need a catch phrase of the week to know any of that. And, by the looks of the latest weather forecasts for the sunny U.S. of A., there is more shots of cold air coming their way. Bundle up, folks!

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