Weather & Science
Snow Storms Threaten US Northeast in February After Spring-Like Warmth
Polar vortex is at risk of weakening, sending cold air south.
A pedestrian in Central Park during a snow storm in New York on Jan. 16.
Photographer: David Dee Delgado/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Spring-like temperatures are blanketing the US Northeast, but winter is far from over — and the potential for February snow is real, meteorologists say.
Forecasters are watching a storm that has the potential to dump snow across the Northeast and Midwest next week. It’s part of a larger pattern. The girdle of Arctic air around the north pole, known as the polar vortex, is poised to weaken and send a cold blast into the US. And because the El Niño weather pattern is in full force, the deep freeze could collide with stormy conditions on the East Coast to unleash snow this month.