jet stream
noun
: a long narrow meandering current of high-speed winds near the tropopause blowing from a generally westerly direction and often exceeding a speed of 250 miles (402 kilometers) per hour
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Researchers studying the polar jet stream and the Polar Vortex that lives above it in the stratosphere don't yet fully understand all the complex atmospheric interactions that drive frigid weather outbreaks.
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Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026
Downstream, though, a large dip in the jet stream, or trough, has dug its claws in, bringing wave after wave of Arctic air southward, along with conditions that are ideal for forming powerful winter storms.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
That wobbling can allow Arctic air from the troposphere — or contained within the polar jet stream — to move elsewhere.
—Brandi D. Addison, Freep.com, 6 Feb. 2026
Meteorologists attributed the pattern to frigid Arctic air funneling into eastern North America and then being driven south as strong high-pressure systems helped force the jet stream into a pronounced dip, allowing colder air to spill into lower latitudes.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 4 Feb. 2026
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Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026
Downstream, though, a large dip in the jet stream, or trough, has dug its claws in, bringing wave after wave of Arctic air southward, along with conditions that are ideal for forming powerful winter storms.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
That wobbling can allow Arctic air from the troposphere — or contained within the polar jet stream — to move elsewhere.
—Brandi D. Addison, Freep.com, 6 Feb. 2026
Meteorologists attributed the pattern to frigid Arctic air funneling into eastern North America and then being driven south as strong high-pressure systems helped force the jet stream into a pronounced dip, allowing colder air to spill into lower latitudes.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for jet stream
Cite this Entry
“Jet stream.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jet%20stream. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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