A sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is an event where the polar vortex of westerly winds in the winter hemisphere abruptly (i.e. over the course of a few days) slows down or even reverses direction, accompanied by a rise of stratospheric temperature by several tens of kelvins. This is considered to be the most dramatic meteorological event in the stratosphere.
Read more about Sudden Stratospheric Warming: History, Classification and Description, Dynamics
Famous quotes containing the words sudden and/or warming:
“The writer who loses his self-doubt, who gives way as he grows old to a sudden euphoria, to prolixity, should stop writing immediately: the time has come for him to lay aside his pen.”
—Colette [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette] (1873–1954)
“Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that’s done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
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—John Donne (1572–1631)