The Polar Vortex is always present in the Arctic Circle. It is a broad area of low pressure usually contained by the Polar Jet Stream. A strong polar jet stream keeps the cold Arctic air bottled north. When the Polar Jet Stream weakens, the Polar Vortex can split and move south. The last time Georgia and Alabama as well as other parts of the southeast had significant impacts from the Polar Vortex was January 2014. Temperatures dropped to the single digits in parts of Georgia and Alabama. The Polar Vortex impacted the Northern US particularly the Great Lakes region and mid-west in early 2019. The term vortex refers to the counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air close to the poles. The Polar Vortex is nothing new.
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