Special Features of Polar Meteorology During the winter polar night, sunlight does not reach the south pole a strong circumpolar wind develops in the middle to lower stratosphere, These strong winds are known as the polar vortex In the winter and early spring, the polar vortex is extremely stable, sealing off air in the vortex from that outside The exceptional stability of the vortex in Antarctic is the result of the almost symmetric distribution of ocean around antarctica The air within the polar vortex can get very cold Once the air temperature gets to below about -80C (193K) Polar Stratospheric Clouds (or pscs for short)are formedSpecial Features of Polar Meteorology • During the winter polar night, sunlight does not reach the south pole. • A strong circumpolar wind develops in the middle to lower stratosphere; These strong winds are known as the 'polar vortex'. • In the winter and early spring, the polar vortex is extremely stable, sealing off air in the vortex from that outside. • The exceptional stability of the vortex in Antarctic is the result of the almost symmetric distribution of ocean around Antarctica. • The air within the polar vortex can get very cold. • Once the air temperature gets to below about -80C (193K), Polar Stratospheric Clouds (or PSCs for short) are formed