The Earth
How the polar vortex and warm ocean intensified a major US winter storm
Last Updated on March 8, 2026 by Daily News Staff
How the polar vortex and warm ocean intensified a major US winter storm
Mathew Barlow, UMass Lowell and Judah Cohen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
A severe winter storm that brought crippling freezing rain, sleet and snow to a large part of the U.S. in late January 2026 left a mess in states from New Mexico to New England. Hundreds of thousands of people lost power across the South as ice pulled down tree branches and power lines, more than a foot of snow fell in parts of the Midwest and Northeast, and many states faced bitter cold that was expected to linger for days.
The sudden blast may have come as a shock to many Americans after a mostly mild start to winter, but that warmth may have partly contributed to the ferocity of the storm.
As atmospheric and climate scientists, we conduct research that aims to improve understanding of extreme weather, including what makes it more or less likely to occur and how climate change might or might not play a role.
To understand what Americans are experiencing with this winter blast, we need to look more than 20 miles above the surface of Earth, to the stratospheric polar vortex.
What creates a severe winter storm like this?
Multiple weather factors have to come together to produce such a large and severe storm.
Winter storms typically develop where there are sharp temperature contrasts near the surface and a southward dip in the jet stream, the narrow band of fast-moving air that steers weather systems. If there is a substantial source of moisture, the storms can produce heavy rain or snow.
In late January, a strong Arctic air mass from the north was creating the temperature contrast with warmer air from the south. Multiple disturbances within the jet stream were acting together to create favorable conditions for precipitation, and the storm system was able to pull moisture from the very warm Gulf of Mexico.
Where does the polar vortex come in?
The fastest winds of the jet stream occur just below the top of the troposphere, which is the lowest level of the atmosphere and ends about seven miles above Earth’s surface. Weather systems are capped at the top of the troposphere, because the atmosphere above it becomes very stable.
The stratosphere is the next layer up, from about seven miles to about 30 miles. While the stratosphere extends high above weather systems, it can still interact with them through atmospheric waves that move up and down in the atmosphere. These waves are similar to the waves in the jet stream that cause it to dip southward, but they move vertically instead of horizontally.
You’ve probably heard the term “polar vortex” used when an area of cold Arctic air moves far enough southward to influence the United States. That term describes air circulating around the pole, but it can refer to two different circulations, one in the troposphere and one in the stratosphere.
The Northern Hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex is a belt of fast-moving air circulating around the North Pole. It is like a second jet stream, high above the one you may be familiar with from weather graphics, and usually less wavy and closer to the pole.
Sometimes the stratospheric polar vortex can stretch southward over the United States. When that happens, it creates ideal conditions for the up-and-down movement of waves that connect the stratosphere with severe winter weather at the surface.
The forecast for the January storm showed a close overlap between the southward stretch of the stratospheric polar vortex and the jet stream over the U.S., indicating perfect conditions for cold and snow.
The biggest swings in the jet stream are associated with the most energy. Under the right conditions, that energy can bounce off the polar vortex back down into the troposphere, exaggerating the north-south swings of the jet stream across North America and making severe winter weather more likely.
This is what was happening in late January 2026 in the central and eastern U.S.
If the climate is warming, why are we still getting severe winter storms?
Earth is unequivocally warming as human activities release greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere, and snow amounts are decreasing overall. But that does not mean severe winter weather will never happen again.
Some research suggests that even in a warming environment, cold events, while occurring less frequently, may still remain relatively severe in some locations.
One factor may be increasing disruptions to the stratospheric polar vortex, which appear to be linked to the rapid warming of the Arctic with climate change.
Additionally, a warmer ocean leads to more evaporation, and because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, that means more moisture is available for storms. The process of moisture condensing into rain or snow produces energy for storms as well. However, warming can also reduce the strength of storms by reducing temperature contrasts.
The opposing effects make it complicated to assess the potential change to average storm strength. However, intense events do not necessarily change in the same way as average events. On balance, it appears that the most intense winter storms may be becoming more intense.
A warmer environment also increases the likelihood that precipitation that would have fallen as snow in previous winters may now be more likely to fall as sleet and freezing rain.
There are still many questions
Scientists are constantly improving the ability to predict and respond to these severe weather events, but there are many questions still to answer.
Much of the data and research in the field relies on a foundation of work by federal employees, including government labs like the National Center for Atmospheric Research, known as NCAR, which has been targeted by the Trump administration for funding cuts. These scientists help develop the crucial models, measuring instruments and data that scientists and forecasters everywhere depend on.
This article, originally published Jan. 24, 2026, has been updated with details from the weekend storm.
Mathew Barlow, Professor of Climate Science, UMass Lowell and Judah Cohen, Climate scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The science section of our news blog STM Daily News provides readers with captivating and up-to-date information on the latest scientific discoveries, breakthroughs, and innovations across various fields. We offer engaging and accessible content, ensuring that readers with different levels of scientific knowledge can stay informed. Whether it’s exploring advancements in medicine, astronomy, technology, or environmental sciences, our science section strives to shed light on the intriguing world of scientific exploration and its profound impact on our daily lives. From thought-provoking articles to informative interviews with experts in the field, STM Daily News Science offers a harmonious blend of factual reporting, analysis, and exploration, making it a go-to source for science enthusiasts and curious minds alike. https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/
The Earth
Cement has a climate problem — here’s how geopolymers with add‑ins like cork could help fix it
Portland cement drives ~8% of global emissions. Learn how low-carbon geopolymers—enhanced with add-ins like cork—could cut concrete’s footprint.
Alcina Johnson Sudagar, Washington University in St. Louis
Concrete is all around you – in the foundation of your home, the bridges you drive over, the sidewalks and buildings of cities. It is often described as the second-most used material by volume on Earth after water.
But the way concrete is made today also makes it a major contributor to climate change.
Portland cement, the key component of concrete, is responsible for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s because it’s made by heating limestone to high temperatures, a process that burns a large amount of fossil fuels for energy and releases carbon dioxide from the limestone in the process.
The good news is that there are alternatives, and they are gaining attention.
Portland cement: A greenhouse gas problem
Cementlike substances have been used in construction for thousands of years. Architects have found evidence of their use in the pyramids of Egypt and the buildings and aqueducts of the Roman Empire.
The Portland cement commonly used in construction today was patented in 1824 by Joseph Aspdin, a British bricklayer.
Modern cement preparation starts with crushing the excavated raw materials limestone and clay and then heating them in a kiln at around 2,650 degrees Fahrenheit (about 1,450 degrees Celsius) to form clinker, a hard, rocklike residue. The clinker is then cooled and ground with gypsum into a fine powder, which is called cement.
About 40% of the carbon dioxide emissions from cement production come from burning fossil fuels to generate the high heat needed to run the kiln. The rest come as the heat converts limestone (calcium carbonate) to lime (calcium oxide), releasing carbon dioxide.
In all, between half a ton and 1 ton of greenhouse gas is released per ton of Portland cement. Cement is a binding agent that, mixed with water, holds aggregate together to create concrete. It makes up about 10% to 15% of the concrete mix by weight.
Alternative technologies can lower emissions
As populations, cities and the need for new infrastructure expand, the use of cement is growing, making it important to find alternatives with lower environmental costs.
Some techniques for reducing carbon dioxide emissions include substituting some of the clinker – the hard residue typically made from limestone – with supplementary materials such as clay, or fly ash and slag from industries. Other methods reduce the amount of cement by mixing in waste sawdust or recycled materials like plastics.
The long-term solution for reducing cement’s emissions, however, is to replace traditional cement completely with alternatives. One option is geopolymers made from earthen clay and industrial wastes.
Geopolymers: A more climate-friendly solution
Geopolymers can be made by mixing claylike materials that are rich in aluminum and silicon minerals with a chemical activator through a process called geopolymerization. The activator transforms the silicon and aluminum into a structure that will look like cement. All of this can happen at room temperature.
The major difference between cement and geopolymer is that cement is mainly made of calcium, whereas geopolymers are made of silicon and aluminum with some possible calcium in their structure.
These geopolymers have been found to possess high strength and durability, including resilience in freeze-thaw cycles and resistance to heat and fire, which are important requirements in construction. Studies have found that some geopolymers can provide comparable if not better strength than traditional cement and, because they don’t require heat the way clinker does, they can be produced with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Geopolymers can also be produced from a variety of raw materials rich in aluminum and silicon, including earthen clays, fly ash, blast furnace slag, rice husk ash, iron ore wastes and recycled construction brick waste. Geopolymer technology can be adapted depending on the clay or industrial waste locally available in a region. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NOj3p6m9M7Q?wmode=transparent&start=0 A brief history of cement and geopolymers. Geopolymer International.
An added advantage of geopolymers is that changes to the mixture can produce a range of features.
For example, I and my co-researchers at the University of Aveiro in Portugal added a small amount of cork industry waste – the leftovers from creating bottle corks – to clay-based geopolymer and found it could improve the strength of the material by up to twofold. The cork particles filled the spaces in the geopolymer structure, making it denser, which increased the strength.
Similarly, additives such as sisal fibers from the agave plant, recycled plastic and steel fibers can change geopolymer properties. The additives do not participate in the geopolymerization process but act as fillers in the structure.
The structure of geopolymers can also be designed to act as adsorbents, attracting toxic metals in wastewater and capturing and storing radioactive wastes. Specifically, incorporating materials like zeolite that are natural adsorbents in the geopolymer structure can make them useful for such applications as well.
Where geopolymers are used now
Geopolymers have been used in many types of construction, including roads, coatings, 3D printing, coastal environmental protection, the steel and chemical industries, sewer rehabilitation and building radiation shielding and rocket launchpad and bunker infrastructure.
One of the earliest examples of a modern geopolymer concrete project was the Brisbane West Wellcamp airport in Australia.
It was built in 2014 with 70,000 metric tons of geopolymer concrete, which was estimated to have reduced the project’s carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 80%.
The geopolymer market is currently estimated to be between US$7 billion and $10 billion, with the largest growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
Analysts have estimated that the market could grow at a rate of 10% to 20% per year and reach about $62 billion by 2033.
In several countries, greenhouse gas regulations and green-building certifications are expected to support the continued growth of geopolymers in the construction industry.
Expanding the use of cement alternatives
The advantage of using industrial wastes in geopolymers is a double-edged sword, however. The composition of industrial wastes varies, so it can be difficult to standardize the processing methods. The geopolymer components need to be mixed in particular ratios to achieve desired properties.
Producing the activator for the geopolymer, typically done in chemical facilities, can raise the cost and contribute to the carbon footprint. And the long-term data about these materials’ stability is only now being developed given their newness. Also, these geopolymers can take longer to set than cement, though the setting time can be sped up by using raw materials that react quickly.
Developing cheaper, naturally available activators like agricultural waste rice husk with sustainable supply chains could help lower the costs and environmental impact. Also, printing the recipe on the raw material packaging could help simplify the job of determining the mixing ratio so geopolymers can be more widely used with confidence.
Even though geopolymer technology has some drawbacks, these low-carbon alternatives have great potential for reducing emissions from the construction sector.
Alcina Johnson Sudagar, Research Scientist in Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Science
Sonic booms from meteors can release the energy of hundreds of tons of TNT – here’s how they work
Shawn Laatsch, University of Maine
Sonic booms from meteors can release the energy of hundreds of tons of TNT – here’s how they work
As humans, we live out our lives on a planet that is constantly sweeping through a cosmic ocean littered with ancient debris from the formation of the solar system. For the most part, our world glides silently through space, shielded by Earth’s thin atmosphere.
Occasionally, however, the rest of the universe reminds us of its presence with stunning, visceral clarity.
Residents along the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border were startled by a sudden sonic boom on the afternoon of May 30, 2026. A large number of people up and down the Eastern Seaboard witnessed it.
After NASA analyzed imagery from weather satellites, they identified the culprit as a small meteor measuring roughly 3 to 5 feet (1 to 2 meters) across. It was screaming through space at an astonishing 42,000 miles per hour (68,000 kilometers per hour) when it plunged into Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Friction between the meteor and the increasingly dense air quickly turned the kinetic energy of the rock shooting through the sky into blistering heat. At an altitude of roughly 40 miles (60 kilometers), the immense heat and pressure overcame the structural integrity of the meteor, causing it to fragment in a brilliant flash.
The breakup released a staggering burst of energy equivalent to 300 tons of TNT. When an object travels through the air at speeds faster than sound, which is 761 mph (1,225 kph), it creates a shock wave creating a thunderous clap, or sonic boom. While the majority of the rock vaporized, the remaining fragments rained down harmlessly into the waters of Cape Cod Bay.
In the past, such an event might have passed as an unverified sighting in the daytime sky. Today, however, our planet is wired with an accidental network of planetary defense sensors: dashboard cameras, security systems and digital doorbells.
Because meteor entries like this one last only a few fleeting seconds, they were easily missed in the past. Now, our collective digital eyes capture these spontaneous cosmic intrusions almost instantly, bringing the universe directly into our daily news feeds. While dramatic, these events are more common than most people imagine.
As someone who has worked as a planetarium director and astronomy educator for over four decades, I often get emails, social media messages and phone calls about such objects and sightings. While hearing a sonic boom can be a bit unsettling or even shocking, it reminds us we live in an active universe and may want to occasionally look up instead of down at our devices.
A meteoric spring
The Cape Cod fireball was the latest sighting in an active season of meteoritic arrivals. Just months earlier, the solar system seemed to be sending a parade of rocky objects down to Earth.
From March 8-11, observers in Northern Europe witnessed large, slow-moving fireballs in their skies. Enthusiasts and scientists successfully recovered several fragments. Lab analysis of these specimens revealed their place in a fascinating lineage – scientists determined that they had originated from Vesta, a massive, pristine asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.
On March 17, a 7-ton asteroid measuring roughly 6 feet across entered the atmosphere directly over Lake Erie. Traveling at 45,000 mph (72,400 kph), it generated a brilliant daytime flash and a powerful sonic boom, unloading an energy equivalent to 250 tons of TNT. NASA scientists published data about its trajectory, allowing meteorite hunters to recover pristine fragments in Valley City, just a short drive from Cleveland, Ohio.
Only four days later, on March 21, another cosmic fragment blazed across the skies of Texas. This object was about 3 feet wide, and it traveled at 35,000 mph (56,300 kph), releasing the energy of roughly 26 tons of TNT.
Outside of Houston, homeowner Sherri James was startled by a sudden crash, only to discover a 6-inch (15-cm) hole in her roof and a small piece of the solar system resting on her floor.
Thank goodness for Earth’s atmospheric shield
The benchmark for modern atmospheric impacts is the Chelyabinsk meteor, which exploded over Russia on Feb. 15, 2013.
That object was significantly larger than any of the meteors researchers have observed in 2026, measuring 60 feet (18 m) across and weighing roughly 10,000 tons. When it shattered 18 miles (29 km) above the ground, it produced an airburst with an explosive force 30 times greater than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
The resulting shock wave shattered glass across hundreds of square miles, injuring nearly 1,500 people and registering as a seismic event between 2.7 and 3.7 on the Richter scale. The incident was a stark reminder that while Earth’s atmosphere is an incredibly effective shield, absorbing the lion’s share of cosmic impacts, a large enough kinetic punch can still reach the surface below.
Despite the dramatic stories around these meteor impacts, history shows that the cosmic lottery rarely targets humans directly. In all of recorded history, there is only one universally confirmed case of a person being directly struck by a space rock.
In 1954, an 8.5-pound (3.8 kg) meteorite crashed through the roof of a house in Sylacauga, Alabama, ricocheted off a heavy wooden radio and struck a sleeping woman named Ann Hodges. Though it left a severe bruise on her hip, the radio absorbed the brunt of the impact. Had it not been for the radio, there is a chance she could have been seriously injured or killed by this object.
Living with the cosmos
So, are you in any imminent danger from meteors? The mathematics of the cosmos provide profound reassurance. The statistical odds of being struck by a meteorite are vanishingly small. You stand a better chance of winning a multimillion-dollar lottery jackpot 10 times in a row than ever being hit by a meteorite.
The vast majority of the tons of space debris that bombard Earth daily arrive as harmless dust grains, burning up as elegant meteors or shooting stars. But when the larger pieces do break through and land on our planet, they offer a rare, tangible connection to the beginning of the solar system.
If you ever happen to witness one of these magnificent fireballs ripping open the sky, consider reporting your observation to the American Meteor Society. The organization keeps track of sightings and falls from around the globe. Recovered fragments provide a way for scientists to gain valuable information about the origin of our solar system, and of our home planet.
Shawn Laatsch, Director of the Versant Power Astronomy Center, University of Maine
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Automotive
The Road to Cleaner Water: How to Prevent Roads from Polluting Waterways
Everyone loves driving on clean highways and spotless local roads. Few people, however, realize the benefits of clean roads go well beyond mere aesthetics. Cleaner roads also mean cleaner and healthier local rivers, lakes and beaches. Follow these simple year-round tips to help make the waters as fun and healthy as possible this summer.
(Feature Impact) Everyone loves driving on clean highways and spotless local roads. Few people, however, realize the benefits of clean roads go well beyond mere aesthetics. Cleaner roads also mean cleaner and healthier local rivers, lakes and beaches.
That’s because harmful pollutants in local waters often run off untreated from highways and roads during strong storms. Those rains sweep trash, dripped oil, harmful chemicals and even dangerous bacteria from pet waste into local waters via stormways and sewers. This untreated runoff can affect people’s health, make water unsafe for swimming and harm aquatic life. Every year, such man-made “stormwater pollution” even closes portions of recreational rivers and beaches.
It’s up to everyone to help prevent human-caused stormwater pollution. Don’t wait for rain in the forecast to get started. Instead, follow these simple year-round tips from the experts at the California Department of Transportation to help make the cooling waters in California and beyond as fun and healthy as possible this summer.
Trash-Free Trips and Responsible Car Care
Summer can mean more road time traveling to your next adventure. Loose items in truck beds and on roof carriers or trash tossed from car windows can quickly become the next wave of stormwater pollution flowing into local waters. To reduce:
- Secure Your Load: Always securely tarp and tie down anything in a truck bed or on a roof rack. Items falling off vehicles are both a safety hazard and can become roadside debris.
- Keep a Car Trash Catcher: Designate a bag or container in your car for food wrappers, coffee cups and other small trash until you can dispose of it properly.
- Wash Smart: Commercial car washes that recycle water are superior for preventing road dirt and chemicals accumulated on your car from entering storm drains compared to washing in a driveway. If washing at home, do it on your lawn or a permeable surface where the water naturally filters into the ground and not street gutters.
Outdoor Adventures That Leave Only Footprints
Whether you’re hiking a mountain trail, picnicking at the park or relaxing on the beach, remember the outdoor golden rule: pack out everything you pack in. Food wrappers, plastic bottles and even seemingly small items like bottle caps and cigarette butts are some of the most common litter found in parks, waterways and along coastlines. When left behind, they’re not just eyesores; they’re prime candidates for being washed into waterways.
- Pro Tip: Choose reusable water bottles that clip onto bags to reduce pollution from discarded plastic bottles.
At Home and In Your Neighborhood
Even close to home, your actions can make a difference.
- Garden Care: When tidying up your garden or front lawn, sweep leaves and grass clippings into your green bin instead of hosing them down the driveway. Hosing yard waste into road gutters can clog storm drains and cause flooding.
- Pesticide Prevention: To protect waterways from harmful chemical runoff, opt for organic or eco-friendly alternatives for pest and weed control whenever possible.
- Scoop the Poop: Pet waste contains harmful bacteria that can contaminate waterways. In fact, the EPA estimates that just two days’ worth of waste from 100 dogs can produce enough bacteria to close a beach. Always pick up after your pets, especially when walking in your neighborhood or parks, and dispose of it in a trash bin.
Pollution in waterways doesn’t just look bad; it creates real problems, from harming wildlife and ecosystems to causing potential health issues for humans and pets who encounter contaminated water. The cleaner roads and surrounding areas are, the healthier rivers, lakes and beaches become. For more tips and resources, visit CleanWaterCA.com to ensure a clean, healthy summer for everyone.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock
SOURCE:
California Department of Transportation
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