Another surge of frigid air is headed for the Eastern U.S., and it could usher in the coldest temperatures of the season, reaching as far south as Alabama.

“As far as the cold in mid-December, my thinking is that the cold the first week of December is the appetizer, and the main course will be in mid-December,” said Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting for the Atmospheric and Environmental Research JANUS Research Group.

Cohen attributes the repeated blasts of cold to a stretched polar vortex.

“That is where the polar vortex, which is normally circular in shape and centered over the North Pole, becomes elongated or stretched out between East Asia and eastern North America,” he said.

This pattern allows Arctic air to spill much farther south, contributing to multiple outbreaks

See Full Page