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The imputation of drama to "polar vortex" is entirely in how you see it. "Polar" refers to the poles, in this case the North geometric pole, and "vortex" is an

The imputation of drama to "polar vortex" is entirely in how you see it. "Polar" refers to the poles, in this case the North geometric pole, and "vortex" is an exact description of what wind is doing in a polar vortex. Storms have been given names since the early 19th century, so your "used to be" here is well beyond the threshold of living memory.

tomohawk 4y ago
Tropical cyclones have been given names for a long time, but that's not what I was referring to. Now-a-days snowstorms and other run-of-the mill phenomena are given names. That's pretty recent. And is it really "entirely" in how I see it? I'm referring to the breathless intonation of modern weather talking heads as they discuss normal weather phenomena as a "polar vortex" (in scare quotes). They used to just say it was going to snow more or be colder. The use of "polar vortex" in that context definitely amps up the drama.
- abracadaniel 4y ago
  Because polar vortex storms aren’t a very common phenomenon. Aside from the past couple of years, the previous occurrences seem to be 2014-2015, 2013-2014, and then 1985 prior to that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_vortex https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_vortex So, we have a very rare, very extreme weather phenomenon that’s hit multiple in the last 10 years after decades of static behavior. The wiki on the Polar Vortex even attributes the 2013 storm with popularizing the term due to the heavy reporting.
  - tjr225 4y ago
    And yet if you talk to any older person they’ll tell you winter used to be worse/more snow/etc, so perhaps the heavy reporting is the real culprit.
    - Izkata 4y ago
      This isn't a general-winter-weather thing like that. The polar vortex is a very particular phenomena that only lasts 1-3 days* and doesn't necessarily come with snow. Its signature is just extreme cold, on the order of -40 degrees or lower, even in areas that only very rarely go below -5 F (-20 C). * technically it's always there around the north pole, but we only talk about it when it dips down into populated areas.
rufus_foreman 4y ago
>> Storms have been given names since the early 19th century, so your "used to be" here is well beyond the threshold of living memory My interpretation of the parent post is that it refers to the naming of every typical winter storm during a season, which was begun by the Weather Channel in 2012. I do in fact remember the debate at the time over that practice. Wikipedia gives only two examples of winter storm names predating 1900, "The Great Snow of 1717" and "The Schoolhouse Blizzard" or "Children's Blizzard" of 1888. That seems to be a different practice than winter storms Ajax, Bella, Cara, Delphi, Echo and Ferus of the 2021-2022 season.
mistrial9 4y ago
California has implemented a plan to name heat-waves. After the last few years on the Western side of North America, maybe not a bad thing.

tomohawk 4y ago

Tropical cyclones have been given names for a long time, but that's not what I was referring to. Now-a-days snowstorms and other run-of-the mill phenomena are given names. That's pretty recent. And is it really "entirely" in how I see it? I'm referring to the breathless intonation of modern weather talking heads as they discuss normal weather phenomena as a "polar vortex" (in scare quotes). They used to just say it was going to snow more or be colder. The use of "polar vortex" in that context definitely amps up the drama.

abracadaniel 4y ago
Because polar vortex storms aren’t a very common phenomenon. Aside from the past couple of years, the previous occurrences seem to be 2014-2015, 2013-2014, and then 1985 prior to that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_vortex https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_vortex So, we have a very rare, very extreme weather phenomenon that’s hit multiple in the last 10 years after decades of static behavior. The wiki on the Polar Vortex even attributes the 2013 storm with popularizing the term due to the heavy reporting.
- tjr225 4y ago
  And yet if you talk to any older person they’ll tell you winter used to be worse/more snow/etc, so perhaps the heavy reporting is the real culprit.
  - Izkata 4y ago
    This isn't a general-winter-weather thing like that. The polar vortex is a very particular phenomena that only lasts 1-3 days* and doesn't necessarily come with snow. Its signature is just extreme cold, on the order of -40 degrees or lower, even in areas that only very rarely go below -5 F (-20 C). * technically it's always there around the north pole, but we only talk about it when it dips down into populated areas.

rufus_foreman 4y ago

>> Storms have been given names since the early 19th century, so your "used to be" here is well beyond the threshold of living memory My interpretation of the parent post is that it refers to the naming of every typical winter storm during a season, which was begun by the Weather Channel in 2012. I do in fact remember the debate at the time over that practice. Wikipedia gives only two examples of winter storm names predating 1900, "The Great Snow of 1717" and "The Schoolhouse Blizzard" or "Children's Blizzard" of 1888. That seems to be a different practice than winter storms Ajax, Bella, Cara, Delphi, Echo and Ferus of the 2021-2022 season.

mistrial9 4y ago

California has implemented a plan to name heat-waves. After the last few years on the Western side of North America, maybe not a bad thing.