00:00Just like a traffic jam, there are times when the atmosphere seems to pause and the weather gets stuck.
00:06Storms stop moving and they stall overhead.
00:08Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, those experiencing bright, dry weather string together a seemingly unending streak of blue skies.
00:16What leads to atmospheric blocking? It all comes down to the steering wind of the jet stream.
00:21A slowing or pause in the movement of storms is the result of a very wavy, amplified jet stream.
00:26One familiar serpentine pattern is known as an omega block with nearly stationary low pressure systems to the east and
00:33west and a tall ridge of high pressure in between.
00:36This is the opposite of fast flow from a flatter jet stream that rapidly drives storms along.
00:41These stalling storms and blocking patterns tend to run cool with damp, dreary days that run together until the pattern
00:47dislodges and the atmospheric traffic flows freely.
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