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From VOA Learning English, this is In the News. |
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A weather system known as a polar vortex brought dangerously cold weather to large parts of the United States this week. |
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A polar vortex is a cold, thick low pressure system. |
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The air turns counter-clockwise when on the move. |
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The polar vortex started up in Canada. |
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After crossing the border, it moved deep into the southeastern United States. |
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The polar vortex brought the coldest temperatures in more than 20 years to many areas. |
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Anise Jenkins lives in Washington, DC. |
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"I have a coat on. |
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I have three sweaters. |
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I have two blouses. |
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I have a thermal on and I don't feel like I have anything on." |
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Another woman, named Amanda, lives nearby in Maryland. |
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"It's DC. |
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It's not supposed to be this cold." |
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The weather was also a shock to visitors from overseas. |
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Deepak from India was visiting his sister in New York. |
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"Tears just come out from my eyes and my head inside like a freezy. |
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Oh, my God. |
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Oh, my God." |
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The extreme weather started with a low-pressure system near the North Pole. |
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The Arctic air was pushed as far south as Alabama on wind currents known as the jet stream. |
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The bitter cold covered much of the central United States, forcing schools, government offices and businesses to close. |
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Camden Walker is a reporter for the Washington Post. |
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He is part of the newspaper's Capital Weather Gang, which limits its reporting to the weather. |
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"When the jet stream came south, the floodgates opened from the north and we had a direct flow from the Arctic." |
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But the polar vortex did not have the same effect everywhere. |
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"Interestingly enough, it is warmer in Alaska and also somewhat warmer over Greenland |
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because when you deplete the North Pole and the Arctic region of its cold air, when it's forced southward, it can't all stay there. |
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Basically it's a bubble that is draining toward us. |
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It is rushing towards us in the United States." |
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Camden Walker says the weather system moved away quickly from places like Washington. |
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But the cold air and high winds were staying longer in the middle of the country. |
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At least 20 deaths were blamed on the cold weather nationwide. |
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Health experts said people should go outside buildings for only 10 to 20 minutes at a time. |
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They warned that being outside in such cold can cause frostbite. |
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This condition may cause exposed parts of the body to freeze. |
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Temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius or lower were reported in Washington, New York, Boston and Philadelphia. |
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In fact, temperatures in all or parts of the 50 states were below freezing at some point on Tuesday. |
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Even in Hawaii, it was minus six degrees at the top of the state's highest mountain. |
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The effect of the polar vortex was extensive. |
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Airline companies cancelled more than 11,000 flights over a four day period. |
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The cold weather also interfered with train service. |
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In the south, the Tennessee Valley Authority said it set a single day record for electricity as homeowners struggled to stay warm. |
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The TVA provides power to seven states. |
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And it was not just North America that experienced extreme cold. |
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Over in the Pacific Ocean, a Russian research ship was stuck in ice for over a week. |
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The Shokalskiy left New Zealand on November 28. |
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The ship was carrying 52 passengers when it became stuck. |
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They were rescued January 2, when a helicopter flew them to an Australian icebreaker. |
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And that's In The News from VOA Learning English. |
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I'm Steve Ember. |
