WEATHER

Axios - An Arctic outbreak featuring punishing cold weather is beginning across much of the U.S. at the same time that Europe prepares for plunging temperatures. About three weeks of cold east of the Rocky Mountains — potentially accompanied by major winter storms — will boost natural gas prices, pose a risk of power outages and disrupt travel.

The cold will hit the U.S. in waves, with the first moving in this week, a second early next week on the heels of a significant Plains to Mid-Atlantic winter storm, and additional ones after that...

"It is the stretching of the polar vortex that allows colder temperatures normally confined to the Arctic to spread much further south of normal," said Judah Cohen, a meteorologist at AER, via email. Some scientists have published studies linking rapid Arctic climate change with shifts in the polar vortex, though this is part of an active debate. Read more