''Siberian Express'' is a meteorological term in the United States describing the arrival of an extremely cold
air mass
In meteorology, an air mass is a volume of air defined by its temperature and humidity. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adapt to the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to l ...
of Siberian origins. It specifically refers to an origin in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...
. The term is most commonly employed by the news media when such a frigid air mass moves into the northern plains or
upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...
. Meteorologically, it is typically associated with a phenomenon called the
Pacific–North American teleconnection pattern (PNA).
"Siberian Express" was the nickname coined by a meteorologist to describe the January 17, 1982
cold wave
A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in tem ...
event hitting much of the United States. Also called "
Cold Sunday
"Cold Sunday" was a meteorological event which took place on January 17, 1982, when unprecedentedly cold air swept down from Canada and plunged temperatures across much of the United States far below existing all-time record lows.
The phenomeno ...
", the event broke many all-time record lows.
Paleoclimatologist
Paleoclimatology ( British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the study of climates for which direct measurements were not taken. As instrumental records only span a tiny part of Earth's history, the reconstruction of ancient climate is important t ...
Jack A. Wolfe
Jack Albert Wolfe (1936–2005) was a United States Geological Survey paleobotanist and paleoclimatologist best known for his studies of Tertiary climate in western North America through analysis of fossil angiosperm leaves
A leaf ( : ...
published in 1992 about the geographic origin. The frozen Arctic Ocean produced the frigid air for the "Siberian Express", the
high-pressure system in Siberia which was southward blocked by the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
and
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
, that transported the air down into North America.
See also
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Siberian High
The Siberian High (also Siberian Anticyclone; russian: Азиатский антициклон (''Aziatsky antitsiklon'')) is a massive collection of cold dry air that accumulates in the northeastern part of Eurasia from September until April. It ...
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Cold wave
A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in tem ...
*
Cold front
A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Northern ...
*
Pineapple Express
Pineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent large-scale flow of warm moist air, and the associated heavy precipitation both in the waters immediately northeast of the Hawaii ...
*
Pacific Organized Track System
The Pacific Organised Track System (PACOTS) comprises airways used primarily for travel between Asia and the west coast of North America. Similar to the North Atlantic Tracks, PACOTS routes are flexible due to jet streams. Eastbound tracks are numb ...
*
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References
External links
Hawaiian–Siberian Express*
{{cold wave
Anticyclones
Environment of Siberia