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The Conversation USA

How the polar vortex and warm ocean intensified a major US winter storm

  • Written by Mathew Barlow, Professor of Climate Science, UMass Lowell
imageBoston and much of the U.S. faced a cold winter blast in January 2026.Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

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...

Read more: How the polar vortex and warm ocean intensified a major US winter storm

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