I am not one to call the Polar Vortex a True Vortex in the deffenetion of the term but i will say to be more spacfic and more Technicaly accurate its the Polar Jet Stream that keeps the Air locked up in the artic and big disturbances can cause it to buckle and casuse deep troughs to develop. and that plunges the cold air south out of the polar Reagion into Canada and into the United States but Polar Vortex it to me is a miss Nomer why because its not a true vortex in the word its the Polar Jet stream or the Artic Jet i will liken it to the Antartic Jet that sorounds Antartica and keeps the cold air locked over the continent not allowing it to spill northward but in southen hemisphere winters the Antartic Jet buckles North ward and brings colder air from the antartic to places like Australia and southern south america and south affrica . In Southern Summer its bottled up over the continent but in the southern winter it develops troughs and becomes wavy and that pulls cold air northward from the south pole and brings snow to the southern contnents.
to me the word " Vortex" is a missnomer its not a true " vortex" in the sense of the word a meteorological Vortex Is a tornado that is a Vortex in the Deffenition of the word I think the word Vortex is miss used when it refers to the polar Jet that protects the artic reagon in summer and year around and the dips in the polar jet are what are responsible for our cold spells and thats what brought us the snow storms last year and depending on the polar Jet again it all depends on the Polar jet if we get more snow storms. there are 2 Air masses Continental Polar and Maritime Polar the maritime polar is born over the pacific ocean and can produce Highs in the 50's and 60's while the Continental polar is born over land like Russia or frozen areas of the artic and that can produce snow storms and be quite cold highs offen below zero most of the time depending on if your in the core of the high pressure.
