Cold Season 2019-20 in U.S. Begins/Ends on Colder Note During late February and well into March the intense polar vortex currently located near Greenland broadens and is able to guide colder air into the U.S. causing near to slightly above national heating demand to close an otherwise very warm winter season.

The developing low pressure system over New England last Friday intensifying to 965 MB low on the upper Maine Coast Friday evening was responsible for the historic tornado outbreak across the Mid-Atlantic and powerful hurricane force gusts that followed for the entire Northeast Corridor. However, as the low pressure traveled northeastward into the polar vortex positioned just east of Greenland the low pressure system intensified to a 930 MB equivalent to a category 4 hurricane.

December 2019 was 6th warmest on record for the U.S. January 2020 maintains the warm streak ranking 5th warmest in the 1895-2020 climatology. Too blame is a polar vortex anchored near the North Pole and widespread warmer-than-normal ocean surface.