winter storm

On the 14th of February, 2021 (Valentine’s Day), an immense polar vortex drifted southward from northern Canada to a position over Minnesota.  At the same time, a full-latitude upper level trough was located over the U.S. West Coast.  With the position of the polar vortex, a surge of arctic air southward across the Great Plains states was inevitable. But, as the upper level trough moved eastward, this frigid air-mass was forced farther westward than is normally the case, spilling as far westward as extreme southeastern Arizona.  The temperature in El Paso plummeted to 8 degrees early on February 15th.  As the upper trough continued eastward, bitterly cold air and associated ice and snow spread across Texas. Loss of power was nearly inevitable due to the extent of this extremely cold air-mass.  The upper trough was slow to exit the deep south, meaning that regions across Louisiana and Mississippi were also dealt, in certain instances, this deadly frigid blow.

The investigation of the reliability of existing power grids across Texas will continue well into the summer.  However, an assessment of the extremity of this arctic weather event must also be made in order to understand the complexity of the Great Texas Winter Storm of 2021.

 

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