If weather is supposed to move… what happens when it gets stuck?

In this episode of The Climate Translation, Dr. Mac explores the jet stream, what he calls the Atmospheric Highway, and why scientists are studying whether it’s starting to behave differently. He breaks down how temperature differences between the equator and the Arctic drive this high-speed river of air, and how a rapidly warming Arctic may be changing that balance. Along the way, he examines why the jet stream can become more wavy and slow-moving, how that can lead to persistent weather patterns like heat waves, cold snaps, and prolonged rainfall, and what researchers are still trying to understand about these shifts. He also tackles common misconceptions about the polar vortex and explains how these large-scale atmospheric changes ...