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A Polar Hurricane or Cyclone; The Vortex Explained By A Climate Thinker

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Polar Vortex, from the Glossary of Meteorology, American Meteorological Society :

“(Also called polar cyclone, polar low, circumpolar whirl.) The planetary-scale cyclonic circulation, centered generally in the polar regions, extending from the middle troposphere to the stratosphere.”
 
“The westerly airflow is largely a manifestation of the thermal wind above the polar frontal zone of middle and subpolar latitudes. The vortex is strongest in winter when the pole-to-equator temperature gradient is strongest. In the Northern Hemisphere, the vortex has two centers in the mean, one near Baffin Island and the other over northeast Siberia.”

What’s a Polar Vortex?

Want to know more about the frigid blast of air that’s been sweeping the country this week? Dr. John Holdren*, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, has got answers for you.

“The fact is no single weather episode can either prove or disprove global climate change. Climate is the pattern of weather that we observe geographically over the seasons,” said Dr. Holdren on January 8th, 2014.

See the video above for a two-minute explanation.

Congress established the Office of Science and Technology Policy in 1976 with a broad mandate to advise the President and others within the Executive Office of the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The 1976 Act also authorizes OSTP to lead interagency efforts to develop and implement sound science and technology policies and budgets, and to work with the private sector, state and local governments, the science and higher education communities, and other nations toward this end.

OSTP’s Mission

The mission of the Office of Science and Technology Policy is threefold; first, to provide the President and his senior staff with accurate, relevant, and timely scientific and technical advice on all matters of consequence; second, to ensure that the policies of the Executive Branch are informed by sound science; and third, to ensure that the scientific and technical work of the Executive Branch is properly coordinated so as to provide the greatest benefit to society.Dr. John Holdren

Strategic Goals and Objectives

  • Ensure that Federal investments in science and technology are making the greatest possible contribution to economic prosperity, public health, environmental quality, and national security
  • Energize and nurture the processes by which government programs in science and technology are resourced, evaluated, and coordinated
  • Sustain the core professional and scientific relationships with government officials, academics, and industry representatives that are required to understand the depth and breadth of the Nation’s scientific and technical enterprise, evaluate scientific advances, and identify potential policy proposals
  • Generate a core workforce of world-class expertise capable of providing policy-relevant advice, analysis, and judgment for the President and his senior staff regarding the scientific and technical aspects of the major policies, plans, and programs of the Federal government

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