A CLASSIC LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEM JUST WEST OF PORTUGAL! (credit: EUMETSAT.int via Meteo Europe)

DISCUSSION:  As a deepening low-pressure system continues to look more and more impressive as of earlier this morning, here is a recent view of this system via the EUMETSAT satellite imager.  As you can see in the image below, you can denote the region in which there is a stratospheric intrusion was associated with a very intense low-pressure system as of earlier today.  The identified signal for this stratospheric intrusion to be occurring is based on the grayer-looking air mass being injected just to the northwest of this low-pressure system's center of circulation. Only in the more intense low-pressure systems across the Northern Atlantic Ocean, there typically exists more of a tendency for there to be stratospheric intrusions with very intense (or rapidly deepening) low-pressure systems which consequently interact with the tropopause located in the middle to upper parts of the atmosphere.  For more on this and other high-impact weather across Europe, be sure to click here!