After an unusually early disruption of the polar vortex, deep Arctic troughs formed over the North Atlantic, which fundamentally overturned European weather. The Atlantic becomes very active again – the zonal (westerly) flow returns to Europe along with warmer and wetter air masses. The beginning of December will bring a series of intense storms, especially to Western Europereports the portal.
So the old continent is waiting for at least a week or two of significantly warmer weather. Models show that troughs are deepening over the North Atlantic and large depressions are forming near land, strengthening the westerly flow. The result is an influx of warm southwesterly air and a delay in the wintry nature of the weather.
On Sunday, satellite images captured an extremely powerful depression south of Greenland with a pressure of around 950 hPa and a huge wind field heading towards western Europe. Another low was moving from the Norwegian Sea over Norway and Sweden, where it brought heavy snowfall inland. According to meteorological models more deep atlantic lows will continue to move across the ocean over the next week and weekend. The West of Europe is expecting very dynamic weather.
During the first week of December, a significant westerly to southwesterly flow will prevail over Europe. A massive blocking high will settle over eastern Europe and Russia, while a deep low will dominate the Atlantic and western Europe. Between these systems, a “corridor” will open for warm and moist air flowing from the Atlantic to Europe. The situation will continue until at least mid-December.
At the end of the week, temperatures in many regions of Europe should rise by 5 to 10 °C above the long-term average. The south-westerly flow will bring widespread rainfall – especially where the flow encounters mountain obstacles. The most rain will fall in Ireland and the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Portugal.
Heavy rain is expected in the south of Norway and snowfall in the interior. Western Europe will also be hit by intense storms with wind gusts close to hurricane force. There is a risk of flooding and traffic restrictions in some places.
Why does the polar vortex affect the weather in Europe?
The polar vortex is a vast ring of strong winds high in the atmosphere that circles the North Pole in winter. It consists of the upper part of the troposphere and the lower part of the stratosphere. When the eddy is strong, it keeps arctic air to the north. However, when it is disturbed, cold air moves more easily to Europe or North America. This year’s early disturbance of the polar vortex has contributed to significant activity over the Atlantic – deep troughs descend from Canada over the ocean, supporting the formation of intense storms.
