The polar vortex is splitting — an exceedingly rare phenomenon for this time of year that will be an unusual driver of warmer temperatures, as the calendar flips to March and meteorological spring.

Folks in the central and eastern United States may be wondering: Is winter on the way out? Here's what meteorologists say.

As the National Weather Service explains, the polar vortex is an area of low pressure and cold air that exists over both of Earth’s poles 10 to 30 miles above the surface. The term vortex is used to ...

This is what a split in the polar vortex looks like! Highlighted by the red boxes, you can see two distinct circulation centers, versus strictly one. This allows for cold air to flood southward into ...

Bitterly cold conditions can be a result of more than one thing, and in the case of January's deep freeze, the blame shouldn't rest on the polar vortex.