The last ten days have been weird. Honestly, if you felt like the sky couldn't decide between a spring afternoon and a cinematic ice age, you aren't imagining things. We’ve just lived through a massive "atmospheric bifurcation." That’s a fancy way of saying the atmosphere basically split in two, and the results were messy.
While the calendar says mid-January, the weather from last 10 days has behaved like a broken compass. In the U.S. Midwest, we saw record-shattering warmth followed immediately by snow squalls. Meanwhile, Europe got slammed by a tag-team of storms that left travelers stranded and power grids humming at max capacity.
The Chicago Flash Flood and the 60-Degree Midnight
Let’s talk about the Midwest first because it was objectively wild. On January 8th and 9th, Chicago didn't just break a record; it smashed it. O'Hare Airport recorded 1.92 inches of rain on the 8th. To put that in perspective, the previous record for that day was 1.18 inches, set all the way back in 1935.
It wasn’t just wet. It was eerie.
Temperatures in Chicago hit 60°F at midnight on January 9th. Think about that. Most people were sleeping in "spring" weather before waking up to a reality check. Rockford, Illinois, followed suit, hitting 59°F on the 8th and 58°F on the 9th, both of which were all-time daily highs. This unseasonable warmth was a total "mechanical failure" of the polar night jet, which usually keeps the Arctic air locked up north.
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Europe’s Storm Gauntlet: Goretti and Elli
Over in Europe, the vibe was completely different. The last ten days were defined by two names you probably heard on the news: Storm Goretti and Storm Elli.
Goretti was particularly nasty. Between January 6th and 10th, it ripped through Western Europe, leaving over 100,000 homes in France without power. In the UK, it was fatal. One man lost his life in San Sebastián after being swept into the Urumea River by a violent gust of wind.
Then came Storm Elli, which stalled over Germany and Central Europe around January 9th. This wasn't just a "bit of snow." It was a "stay inside and hope the roof holds" kind of event. We saw:
- Black ice across Germany that turned motorways into skating rinks.
- Heavy snow accumulations in Sweden, reaching up to 50 centimeters in just 48 hours.
- A random IF2 tornado in Kalpaki, Greece, on January 8th that wiped out a farm of 40,000 chickens.
Basically, while Chicago was wearing light jackets, Europe was digging out of drifts.
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Why the Polar Vortex Actually "Broke"
You’ve probably heard people blaming the "Polar Vortex" for everything from a cold draft to a dead car battery. But what actually happened in the weather from last 10 days was a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event.
Think of the Polar Vortex like a spinning top. When it’s spinning fast, it stays tight and centered over the North Pole. But around mid-January, a massive wave of energy from the lower atmosphere hit the stratosphere. This slowed the "top" down, causing it to wobble and eventually fracture.
When the vortex fractures, "legs" of cold air drop down into the mid-latitudes. One leg hit the Eastern U.S. recently, which is why Boston went from a record high of 52°F on January 9th down to a shivering 19°F by the morning of the 16th.
The Global Snapshot: Floods and Fires
It wasn't all just snow and cold. The Southern Hemisphere is dealing with the flip side of this atmospheric chaos.
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In South Africa, the Mpumalanga Province and North West regions faced significant flooding between January 8th and 14th. Heavy rains in Tanzania and Malawi have kept soil saturated, making every new storm a potential disaster. At the same time, parts of Namibia are sweating through "abnormally hot" conditions.
It’s a stark reminder that while we’re tracking snow squalls in the Plains, half the world is dealing with water—either too much of it or none at all.
What to Do Now
The weather from last 10 days shows that historical "norms" are becoming less reliable for planning your week. Here is how to handle the next ten:
- Check the Dew Point, Not Just the Temp: When you see rapid warming like we did in Chicago, high humidity leads to "freezing fog." If the temp is 31°F and it’s foggy, the roads are actually ice rinks.
- Seal the Gaps: The "Polar Fracture" means we’re in for a period of extreme temperature swings. Check your window seals now; a 40-degree drop in 12 hours can crack older caulking.
- Update Your Emergency Kit: If you’re in Europe or the Northern U.S., the risk of "secondary perils" like snow load and saturated-soil flooding is high. Ensure your sump pump is cleared and you have at least three days of salt/sand on hand.
The atmosphere is currently in a state of "Eurasian Weather Divergence." That means the predictable patterns are out the window for at least another two weeks. Stay sharp.