Why will Colorado get so cold? Arctic “teeter-totter” bringing coldest temperatures in decades.
The Denver Post
Stephen Johnson/Courtesy photo
Atmospheric churning that created what meteorologists describe as an arctic teeter-totter is driving the cold blast forecast to bring temperatures as low as minus 20 to Colorado’s Front Range cities this week.
Unusually warm air surged into eastern Siberia and western Alaska, forcing up typically sub-freezing temperatures in those regions. This unleashed the cold artic air rocketing toward Denver.
“When you dislodge that cold air, it has to go somewhere,” National Weather Service meteorologist Russell Danielson said.
“It is a teeter-totter,” and while Siberians may savor relative warmth the low end will hit home in Colorado, Danielson said.
“It is quite amazing at the moment – definitely an anomalous pattern.”
Read more on DenverPost.com.
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