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Storyline · concluded · Season thread

Polar Vortex Watch 2025–26

Every dispatch on this road this season, in order: the thread a daily newsletter leaves behind when you read it end to end.

10Dispatches
135Days · NOV 5–MAR 19
I-10Stratosphere
Where the dispatches were filed10 of 10 placed
Map of North America and the Atlantic with a shield at each dispatch's place Natural Earth · places from the headlines
Polar vortex hype as first major cold blast poised to affect Eastern U.S FIGURE 1 NOV 6 · I-10 STRATOSPHERE Polar vortex hype as first major cold blast poised to affect Eastern U.S Hudson Bay Polar Vortex Company back in business with much colder air week ahead LOOP DEC 29 · I-10 STRATOSPHERE Hudson Bay Polar Vortex Company back in business with much colder air week ahead Next week the Polar Vortex is fully loaded with potential for extremely cold conditions across Midwest and Great Lakes LOOP JAN 16 · I-10 STRATOSPHERE Next week the Polar Vortex is fully loaded with potential for extremely cold conditions across Midwest and Great Lakes Multiple Arctic blasts likely into early March as extreme polar vortex spins in Canada FIGURE 1 FEB 23 · I-10 STRATOSPHERE Multiple Arctic blasts likely into early March as extreme polar vortex spins in Canada
The route · every exit
  1. Exit 1 · NOV 5 · Subscribers Major Arctic blast linked to the Polar Vortex will dump abnormally cold air into Eastern US Arctic stratosphere
  2. Exit 2 · NOV 6 Polar vortex hype as first major cold blast poised to affect Eastern U.S Arctic stratosphere
  3. Exit 3 · NOV 17 · Subscribers Watching the polar vortex into early December but not sold on most extreme cold (yet) Arctic stratosphere
  4. Exit 4 · DEC 29 Hudson Bay Polar Vortex Company back in business with much colder air week ahead Arctic stratosphere
  5. Exit 5 · JAN 9 · Subscribers Hudson Bay polar vortex opens for business later next week Arctic stratosphere
  6. Exit 6 · JAN 16 Next week the Polar Vortex is fully loaded with potential for extremely cold conditions across Midwest and Great Lakes Arctic stratosphere
  7. Exit 7 · JAN 18 · Subscribers Polar Vortex Hammer drops on Midwest and Great Lakes into next weekend with brutal cold + ice storm potential in Texas to Southeast Arctic stratosphere
  8. Exit 8 · FEB 23 Multiple Arctic blasts likely into early March as extreme polar vortex spins in Canada Arctic stratosphere
  9. Exit 9 · MAR 3 After week of Spring warmth return to winter into mid-March as polar vortex stretches into Lower 48 Arctic stratosphere
  10. Exit 10 · MAR 19 Polar Vortex vs. Heat Dome battle royale underway Arctic stratosphere
END Final dispatch MAR 19.

Why I-10?

Stratosphere stories ride Interstate 10, after the 10 hPa level where the polar vortex is measured, some 30 kilometres up.

Polar vortex

The band of strong westerly winds circling the Arctic in the stratosphere through the cold season.

Sudden stratospheric warming

A rapid rise in polar stratospheric temperature as the vortex weakens, splits or is displaced.

10 hPa

A pressure level about 30 km up, the standard height for measuring the vortex; the shield number of this road.