sudden stratospheric warming

noun

A weather phenomenon where the polar vortex breaks down, causing a sudden temperature increase in the stratosphere of 50 kelvin or more.

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Meanings

nounsudden stratospheric warming (countable and uncountable, plural sudden stratospheric warmings)

plural sudden stratospheric warmings

  1. countableuncountableclimatologyA weather phenomenon where the polar vortex breaks down, causing a sudden temperature increase in the stratosphere of 50 kelvin or more.
Cite this entry
APA

sudden stratospheric warming. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sudden%20stratospheric%20warming

MLA

“sudden stratospheric warming.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sudden%20stratospheric%20warming. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sudden stratospheric warming,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sudden%20stratospheric%20warming.

Source: sudden stratospheric warming on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.