OMG, the PV

Yes, I did just essentially title my blog in acronyms, and while most people will readily understand what OMG stands for, PV has some room for interpretation.   It could stand for Private Video, Potential Visitor, Prospecting Voraciously...I could go on.   But none of these are what PV actually stands for.  Rather, PV stands for Polar Vortex, that seemingly newly named phenomenon that is currently blasting the majority of our country with strong winds and bitterly cold temperatures.  Its not just the cold temperatures, those most of us can live with, its the wind chills that are biting in, bearing down, and setting records in a number of places.  I would name those places, but frankly, I don't feel like looking them up right now, I just know that I saw that records were broken yesterday in a number of places.  Yesterday was actually quite warm where I live in the North East.  We got a bunch of rain which melted almost all the snow from late last week and the temperature hovered around 50 degrees.  Practically balmy out there.  Then the rain stopped and the temperature dropped and at this point I want to keep on rhyming but won't.  I was thinking about the term "polar vortex" this morning as I was experiencing the wind chills of -8 degrees first hand at 4 A.M. on my walk with the dogs.  They were cold, I was bundled up and still felt the bite, and it crossed my mind that a vortex is one of two things; either a powerful circular current of water or the shape of something rotating rapidly.  The first definition, as I thought about it is definitely off the mark.  If there was a powerful circular current of water and it was deemed "polar" in nature, wouldn't that inherently indicate that it was frozen?  And if it was frozen, how could it be a powerful circular current of water.  It would be more like a monument that one could view at one's leisure rather than a weather phenomenon that is being used to explain this current blast of cold air.  The other definition, might work, however if something is rotating rapidly enough to have an effect on almost the entire United States, you would think that the population living closest would be absolutely decimated.  Regardless, I think that the term is merely something conjured up by meteorologists to instill a sense of dread or overwhelming distress.  All we need to know is that its cold, and if you go outside and stay out there for an extended period of time, you better damn well be prepared for it or you will suffer the consequences.  As for my walk, it was a half hour, I survived, it was invigorating, and frankly, the cold (as long as I am bundled up and ready for it) makes me feel more alive than any amount of heat and humidity ever will.  Bring on the cold, I love it, and I still don't wish I was in Florida with whatever temperatures they have down there Bryan Shaw.