Kathie Dello, associate director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University, has these thoughts on the polar vortex that is causing extreme cold weather in much of the United States:
“It is rare that an arctic air outbreak would be this extreme in Oregon and the Northwest,” Dello said. “The jet stream tends to favor a pattern that keeps us under a high pressure ridge - meaning warmer, sunny weather - when the midwest and east coast experience these arctic air outbreaks. And while extreme cold temperatures are more frequent and likely eastern Oregon, temperatures on the west side of the state are kept more mild due to proximity to the Pacific Ocean.”
Dello is available for print, radio and tv interviews. Oregon State University has on-campus tv and radio studios. She can be reached at 541-737-8927 or [email protected].
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