Sudden Stratospheric Warming

Polar Vortex Faltering Weeks Earlier Than Ever Recorded

Meteorologists are tracking an unusually early disruption of the Arctic stratospheric polar vortex. The circulation is already exceptionally weak for early November, while ECMWF-based forecasts point to a possible wind reversal later this month. The signal is striking, but a major warming and any resulting cold spell remain conditional—not settled outcomes.