The polar vortex is breaking. Be the wave that breaks it.
Thirty kilometres above the Arctic, the winds of the polar vortex have all but stopped, weeks earlier than anyone has ever measured. Here you fire the planetary waves yourself: slow the winds, flip them backwards, tear the vortex in two and see where the cold spills.
Pick a winter to break
Every mission is built on a real vortex event, from the 1952 discovery to this week's record. Stars are saved on this device.
Tap a source or press its number. Green = the vortex bulge will be pointing at it when the wave arrives (big push). Red = out of step (it will cancel part of the bulge). Wave-1 sources shove the vortex away; wave-2 sources squeeze it from two sides.
How to break a polar vortex
1 · Launch waves
Planetary (Rossby) waves are set up when air flows over mountains like Tibet and the Rockies, and by stubborn highs and lows. In winter some climb into the stratosphere. Each tap sends one up.
2 · Hit the bulge
The spinning vortex drags its own bulges around with it. A wave that lands in step makes the bulge bigger and brakes the wind; one that lands out of step cancels some of it. The slower the vortex, the easier timing gets. That's the collapse.
3 · Flip the wind
When the westerly wind at 60° drops below zero you've caused a major sudden stratospheric warming. Then comes the real lottery: does the warmth drip down to the weather, and where does the cold go?
More to explore
Vortex Lab →
Drag sliders to stretch, shove, split and reverse a vortex, and learn what each shape does to the weather.
TimelineEvery famous break →
From Scherhag's 1952 balloons to the Beast from the East, and how early 2026 really is.
QuizMyth or Fact? →
Is the polar vortex a storm? Does it guarantee snow? Test yourself before you post that weather meme.