BRRRRR: Polar vortex to put the chill on much of Canada this winter

Many Canadians should prepare to bundle up with extra layers in the coming weeks.

That’s because a polar vortex will send colder Arctic air masses farther south this winter.

According to the Weather Network , an extreme warming event happening in the upper stratosphere has the potential to disturb the polar vortex and send temperatures plunging well below freezing, starting sometime in December.

The weather event is also one of the earliest on record.

The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air which hovers thousands of metres over the Earth’s north and south poles.

The counter-clockwise flow of air, which doesn’t exist at ground level, is stronger during the winter months but weakens during the summer.

When the polar vortex is disrupted in the northern hemispher