The opposite occurs when the atmosphere is very cold aloft. The air is then allowed to rise because of the unstable conditions and the smoke moves freely. Well we're not just going to be cold aloft for the next few days, we're going to be cold everywhere as high temperatures will struggle to climb into the mid thirties with windchills in the low teens. This pattern will continue into this weekend with another cold shot expected to come in by Wednesday. Let's take a look in this AccuFacts file.
Arctic air is created over the frozen snowfields of central and northern Canada.
This occurs when the winds in the upper levels move from west to east across the northern United States. The arctic air to the north remains undisturbed and becomes even colder. When the upper level winds take on a more north to south direction, the cold air is dislodged from arctic regions and pours southward into the United States. This is the pattern we will continue to see as temperatures will remain below normal. Our first storm track is the Alberta Clipper.