Polar Vortex Leading to Crippling Cold Across the US Could be Due to Global Warming [VIDEO]

The polar vortex that has sent thermometers across two dozen US states plummeting since Sunday has spawned inclement weather leading to the cancellation of thousands of flights, closures of schools, numerous traffic accidents and many more maladies. And as paradoxical as it may seem, the polar vortex may be a result of global warming.

Brandon Miller, senior meteorologist with CNN International, defines a polar vortex as an Arctic low-pressure system marked by a circulation of strong upper-level winds that typically surround the north pole in a counterclockwise direction. A distortion in the polar vortex is caused by a decrease in power in the strong upper-level winds, which alters the jet stream and provides a pathway for the cold Arctic air to reach farther south than it typically would.

Breaches in the polar vortex are typically small, allowing for just tendrils of cold air to break through the fence, but this instance, however, involves a large expanse of cold air that could be as big as 1,200 miles across. It is estimated that about 187 million people could feel the effects of the polar vortex by the time it spreads across the country.

In the US, this resulted in bone-chilling temperatures like the record low of minus 16 Fahrenheit recoded in Chicago on Monday, where the wind chill made the air feel like minus 48 F. Chicagoans reportedly renamed their city "Chiberia" as The Windy City is colder this week than parts of Siberia, according to ABC News.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn issued a disaster declaration as the Arctic temperatures in the state are so low that salting the roads is ineffective and diesel fuel in trucks in turning into gel, ABC reported.

Farther south, Florida temperatures reached as low as 9 F in the northern parts of a state known for its hot weather.

Paradoxically, the displaced polar vortex could be an indicator of global warming, the Christian Science Monitor reported, citing Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research, a weather-risk management company based in Lexington, Mass.

Cohen suggested the shrinking Arctic Ocean summer ice mass and the projected changes in wind and snowfall patterns set off by the warming ocean creates what's known as a "warm-Arctic, cold-continent effect."

CNN meteorologist Miller agreed when asked if the displaced polar vortex could be a side-effect of global warming.

"In short, yes, it could be," he said in a CNN interview. "It seems counterintuitive that global warming could cause significant cold snaps like this one, but some research shows that it could. We know that different types of extreme weather can result from the overall warming of the planet, melting of the Arctic Sea ice, etc. This includes extreme distortions of the jet stream, which can cause heat waves in summer and cold snaps in winter."