"It has been an eventful few months for the Northern Hemisphere atmosphere. An unusually early sudden stratospheric warming episode in late November appears to have factored into a weakened and distorted polar vortex at times in December, likely causing extra waviness in the polar jet stream. This helped fuel extensive intrusions of frigid air into the mid-latitudes, contributing to cold snaps in North America, Europe, and Asia, and priming the atmosphere for disruptive winter storms in January."
"More than 2 meters (7 feet) of snow fell in the first two weeks of January, following 3.7 meters (12.1 feet) in December, according to news reports. Together, these totals make it one of the snowiest periods the peninsula has seen since the 1970s, according to Kamchatka's Hydrometeorology Center. The onslaught brought Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital, to a standstill, with reports of large snowdrifts burying cars and blocking access to buildings and infrastructure."
An unusually early sudden stratospheric warming in late November contributed to a weakened and distorted polar vortex in December. The weakened vortex increased polar jet stream waviness, allowing intrusions of frigid air into mid-latitudes, producing cold snaps across North America, Europe, and Asia, and contributing to January winter storms. Kamchatka saw heavy snowfall: 3.7 meters in December and over 2 meters in early January, making it one of the snowiest periods since the 1970s. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was paralyzed by snowdrifts that buried cars and blocked infrastructure. A MODIS image from NASA's Aqua satellite on January 17, 2026, captured fresh snow, showing volcanic peaks and the city along Avacha Bay.
Read at SnowBrains
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