According to the NWS, the Arctic polar vortex is a powerful band of west-to-east winds that develops in the stratosphere, about 10 to 30 miles above the North Pole, during the winter season. It is ...
as seen in this July 8 air temperature map (left). The corresponding image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on Aqua on the right shows smoke from lightning ...