It has been a frigid week, all due to the polar vortex. You may have heard our Weather Authority mention the polar vortex several times, especially this week. The polar vortex is a large area of cold air aloft (up in the atmosphere) that typically spins above the poles.

A polar vortex is slated to sweep most of the continental US bringing winter storm warnings and a hazardous freeze to millions.

According to the NWS, the Arctic polar vortex is a powerful band of west-to-east winds that develops in the stratosphere, about 10 to 30 miles above the North Pole, during the winter season. It is always present near the poles, though it weakens during summer and intensifies in winter.

The unseasonable chill that has swept through the eastern half of the US defies last year's mild winters and the South's typical warmth.

A polar vortex is slated to sweep most of the continental ... and west of the I-95 corridor to West Virginia and down East Maine with up to 8 inches expected. Before leaving exiting the U.S ...

In 2000, residents of the Portland area had to wait until January 16th for the first inch of snow marked as the latest first inch of snow on record. Also read: Maine to experience brief warm-up before arctic chill returns midweek Residents in 1945 hold the record for the latest last inch of snow,

Frigid temperatures engulfed the South on Monday ahead of a winter storm that’s expected to spread heavy snow and disruptive ice around a region from Texas to north Florida that rarely sees

Tens of millions of residents along the East Coast are bracing for several inches of snow Sunday followed by dangerously cold temperatures that will take hold in

Research has found that rising temperatures in the Arctic are weakening weather systems that normally trap the cold around the poles, making winter weather more chaotic.

If someone asked you, “Where can I go in the United States to escape the frigid air this January?” what would you say?

As the Arctic rapidly warms, the temperature difference between the polar region and lower latitudes decreases, which weakens the jet stream.

An Arctic front sweeping through Maine and New Hampshire on Tuesday brings the potential for dangerous winter weather conditions, according to the National Weather Service in Gray.