Thanks for the welcome, my interests in the jet stream will compound further as our local Australian media and opposition parties are going mad on the extreme weather events that have encouraged severe bush fire events. The persistant low pressure systems are dragging warm air from the interior associated with strong winds that provide great conditions for wild fires. This will be a weather pattern that will last 30 years, fun times ahead. Down in the Southern Hemisphere we have seen a fairly strong negative AAO with our southern vortex being broken up with Antarctic high pressures and temps. The jet stream has moved away from the south pole and is affecting the mainland of Australia. Down here we are not supposed to be affected by planetary waves so the breakup of the southern vortex is perhaps more of a mystery.