University scientist's toll predicts harsh weather By Robert C. Jones Jr. 02-19-2021 By Robert C. Jones Jr. 02-19-2021 Ben Kirtman, a professor of atmospheric sciences, is the primary architect of the multi-model Subseasonal Experiment, or SubX, which forecast a breakdown of the polar vortex that led to frigid temperatures in Texas and other states. The team of scientists started issuing the forecasts back in mid-January, warning that a break down in the polar vortex—the massive area of cold air spinning high in the atmosphere above the Arctic—would occur in the next three to four weeks. Then, a month later, a blast of ultra-cold air from Canada brought the season’s harshest weather to the central United States, knocking out power to millions of people in multiple states and claiming dozens of lives from southern Texas to northern Ohio.