erin blamed for our vortex, the wtumbling temperatures,eing promising to keep us cold all winter. nbc10 meteorologist glenn hurricane schwartz joins us to explain what it is, where it came from, and when it will go away. the myth of divorce, the number one cause of a split is not fighting or even cheating. today, we talk about what's driving couples apart and what can keep them together. and playoff panic, do the birds have what it takes to win two playoff games in their quest for the super bowl? today, eagles insider dave spadaro weighs in. male announcer: nbc10@issue starts now. erin: and good morning to you, i'm erin coleman for nbc10@issue. it is cold, brutally cold. nbc10 meteorologist glenn hurricane schwartz tells us the last time the mercury plunged below zero in philadelphia was 1994.

the time before that, 1985. many are blaming our current weather pattern on something called the polar vortex. so, we sent nbc10's lauren mayk over to the weather center to ask glenn to help us understand what it is. glenn schwartz: all right, first of all, it's nothing new. it's been around forever. meteorologists have used the term forever. it's just something that's come into the public in just the last few years. the coldest air in the world is at the pole. and normally, you have that-- the jet stream up there just spinning around and around and around, keeping the coldest air on earth right up there. sometimes, it will shift with a certain weather pattern and start coming down toward canada, or it could go to the other side of the world towards siberia. and it's carrying that coldest air with it. so, as that polar vortex gets closer to us,

it's bringing that frigid air with it. lauren mayk: and the fact that we're seeing it now, what does that have to do with it? is it a global warming thing? what's causing it? glenn: no, it's weather patterns. it happens occasionally. now, is it happening more often than it used to? is it more extreme than it used to be? there are some theories and there have been some papers written on the fact that the melting of the ice in the arctic is allowing this polar vortex that's normally stuck up there to move around more. and while the earth warms up overall, you get stuck under that polar vortex and you're getting what we get. lauren: so, what we are getting, how long does this last? does this mean that we should prepare to see a lot more of colder weather throughout the whole winter? glenn: generally speaking, these things don't last even as long as they've lasted already.

and there are certainly signs that it will--the pattern will break up, and it will be much more of a normal pattern within even next week things are going to be changing somewhat. but i can't guarantee you that it's not going to come back at some point like in february. the general trend would be for a more typical rest of the winter. lauren: you know, a lot of things--another thing we've been talking a lot about is this bomb cyclone. what is that? glenn: a bomb. lauren: it makes it sound bad. glenn: yeah, well, it is bad for a lot of people who are affected by it. we also call it bombogenesis. it's a real meteorological term, right. it's a real meteorological term, it's been around for decades. and i think the term comes from if you look at a weather map and you look at those lines of equal pressure, when bombogenesis is going on, those lines get closer

and closer together, and there's more and more of them. and if you look at the picture, the animation, it almost looks like there's a bomb ready to go off. and so, there's a certain criteria, the pressure has to drop a certain amount in 24 hours, and then it's officially bombogenesis. lauren: does anything typically follow this kind of winter in terms of what the spring is going to look like? glenn: i don't think there's a real trend in any of that. we do have the la nina going on out in the pacific, the tropical pacific. that's colder than normal ocean water covering a very large area. and when you have a la nina, you do tend to have an active hurricane season in the atlantic the next summer and fall. so, that's the one thing that would be maybe predictable as long as that la nina continues is that there's going to be another bad hurricane season.

lauren: and do things seem to be following their typical patterns? you've been watching this stuff for a long time. does it seem to be following typical patterns, or is there anything different about this year? glenn: well, not just this year. over the last 10 to 15 years, we have set all kinds of records not just in philadelphia, but all over the country, all over the world. the weather seems to me, who i've been following the weather for nearly 50 years, is more extreme. the extremes are more extreme. we've always had extreme weather, but we've never had multiple 20-inch snow storms in philadelphia. we've never had the amount of rain in one day that we've had. houston has never had close to that kind of rain that they've had in the hurricanes. the thing that is common, the common thread is more extreme. you can get extreme heat, but you can also get extreme cold

while the earth is warming up overall. that's that polar vortex thing getting knocked off possibly by the melting ice in the arctic. lauren: all right, glenn, we are glad that you are here to help us understand it and to understand what happens next. erin: of course, we're experiencing a northern hemisphere polar vortex, but there's also a southern hemisphere polar vortex as well. and believe it or not, scientists say it's stronger, colder, and longer lasting than its northern counterpart. some of us resolve to save more money this year and are determined to see it through. nbc's chris clackum explains why financial experts say the payoff is worth the pain. chris clackum: work out more, eat less, quit smoking and/or drinking. the top resolutions for 2018 aren't that much different from years past, and neither is the projected date for breaking, sometime around the end of january. greg mcbride: number one resolution,

save more money. chris: but bankrate.com's greg mcbride says breaking financial resolutions like saving more can be risky, especially if there's an emergency. greg: you want to have enough to cover 6 months worth of expensive ideally in your emergency fund. chris: setting aside 10% to 15% of your paycheck is the target he sets for a retirement fund that's easier to hit with help from your employer. greg: maximize the employer match in your 401k and use those tax advantages as a tailwind on your retirement savings. chris: another important resolution, mcbride also advocates getting out of debt in 2018, especially with interest rates rising. greg: you want to insulate yourself from further interest rating increases and give yourself the opportunity to make serious headway on paying down that debt. chris: chris clackum, nbc news. erin: next on nbc10@issue, the myth of divorce.

the main reason couples break up may not be what you expect. that plus the top three life factors that up the risk of a split. ,000 deaths in america last year. we need to stand up and say enough. the only way this problem is going to be solved is if we raise our voices. choose help over helplessness, hope over hopelessness. make sure that the lives we've lost will not have been lost in vain. addiction is a disease. when you ask for help, help is there for you.

erin: nearly half of all marriages in the us fail, that according to the american psychological association, which says you're even less likely to stay hitched the second time around. locally, you're most likely to split if you live in delaware, where the divorce rate was 3.1 in 2015, followed by new jersey at 2.8, and pennsylvania at 2.6. nbc10's rosemary connors discussed the latest research with dr. george james. dr. james, a psychologist with the council for relationships, specializes in couples and family therapy. rosemary connors: thanks for being with us, dr. james. george james: thank you, rosemary. rosemary: okay, so it's not arguing, it's not cheating. researchers say the number one reason is actually a lack of commitment. in fact, researchers have found about half of all divorces

come from relatively low conflict relationships. explain this for us. george: so, i mean, commitment is a huge part, right? and so, we enter into our marriage, and some people have the thought of like, "this is going to be forever. like i'll--to the day i die, i'm going to be with this person." rosemary: till death do us part. george: right, and they actually believe that, and that's part of their commitment. we see it as a long-term thing. while other people, they see it as, "okay, until a situation happens, or until there's an incident, or until the kids go away to school." and when we talk about commitment, really it's one of the different aspects of commitment. for some people, they'll be committed to the aspects of if we get divorced or not. so, for what i mean by that is, what happens to the children? what happens to my partner? what happens to me financially? that's a part of commitment. that's important that can keep people for a certain period of within their marriage. but a deeper commitment is i love this person, or i see myself connected to this person,

or i know that i can go through tough times with this person, or i know that i only want to be with this person, i don't think about anybody else. so, it's a different form of commitment that is deeper that allows people to last much longer in their marriages than if it's just what happens to the kids because once you saw that problem, you might say, "i don't need to be married anymore." rosemary: it's time, time to get divorced. all right, let's talk about risk factors. some of the research suggests that some of the top risk factors include marrying young, less education, less income, living together before marriage. in your practice, what have you found are some risk factors? george: you know, what i've seen for people is that when they've--when there's deep emotional hurt, wounds to the place where they don't know if they can really overcome it. and so, you know, i can think of a few couples that i've worked with now that are on the verge of divorce, where it just got to this place where whatever happened, and it could've been one of those issues, one of those risk factors-- rosemary: or cheating. i mean, we're not putting that out there.

george: and that's a huge part of my practice that i see. it gets to this place where people feel like, "i don't know if i can really work this out. or i don't know if i still have it in me to be with you." like, "i don't know if we can overcome these obstacles." and it feels so overwhelming and so real that they're unable to do that. and you know, like you know, i think of a person i'm working with now, and they're at the place where they don't know if their partner really loves them anymore, cares for them anymore. and they don't--they can't see past that. and so, that's what i mean in terms of like i think there's some other factors that add in to where people say, "it might be better for me to just not be in this marriage." rosemary: mm-hmm. if people are struggling in their relationships, in their marriages, what advice do you give them? what steps can they take to get it back on track? george: you know, obviously as a therapist, i'm going to say you should see a therapist, right? that's what i do, but that's also what i believe in. and i've seen people in all those risk factors, whether it be abuse, whether that be--i mean, abuse is one of those areas that it's a little bit more serious,

where someone might need to say like, "this is better for me not to be married." but when we talk about infidelity, when we talk about even sometimes addiction or just, as we mentioned, low commitment, sometimes getting help can make the difference. i've seen people go from having a horrible relationship, on the verge of divorce, working through it, and now having the best relationship of their lives. and that's because they did the hard work. they had those conversations and they talked about things that were really overwhelming and tough. rosemary: of course, communication is essential in a marriage. and as the therapist, sort of the mediator, you're kind of the primary communicator. george: right, and just helping people to realize what are they not saying to each other? what are the places that they were hurt? and one of the things that often comes up is that we're not mind readers, right? i don't know that what i just did hurt you or hurt you in that particular way that you don't even want to be with me anymore. and just being able to talk about that, talk about money, sex, and other parts of relationships that can help people to now say, "we can overcome it."

i think that's the main part. the other thing that i've seen is the willingness to invest in your relationships. constantly, couples get to the place where they just stop. they stop dating, they stop having fun, they stop going out, they stop doing things that made them like each other, and now they're maybe filled with responsibility or other things. rosemary: stress. george: stress, right? and they're just overwhelmed, but not feeling the good parts of the relationship. that's the other part that helps the commitment. that if i remember that i-- not only do i love this person, but i have fun with this person. i have good times with this person. then i want to stay with this person. but if all i remember is the stress, the last argument, the time that you hurt me, then maybe i don't want to be with you. rosemary: dr. george james, as always, thank you so much for your insight and for your advice. george: thank you, i appreciate it. erin: in the united kingdom, researchers call tomorrow, monday january 8, divorce day. it's the day when most online searches for a divorce happen.

psychologists think it's because couples come under a lot of pressure during the holidays, things like dealing with extended family and financial pressure. and of course, couples spend a lot more time together, which can spell trouble for relationships that are already on shaky ground. faith in foles. eagles insider dave spadaro weighs in on everything the team is doing to prepare for the playoffs. that's next. ♪

erin: the regular season is behind us and we're looking to the future. the eagles need two playoff wins to secure their ticket to the super bowl. but do the birds have what it takes? nbc10's lauren mayk sat down with eagles insider dave spadaro to find out. lauren: the eagles' last performance getting a lot

of folks concerned, especially with the offense. quarterback nick foles has been getting a lot of practice time, but do you think that we're going to see the backup quarterback nate sudfeld on the field january 13? dave spadaro: yeah, no, i don't. i think that everybody needs to exhale a bit here. nick foles has been in the nfl for six seasons. he started the playoff game in 2013, did a really nice job, left the field with the lead. and he struggled a little bit here the last couple of games, no question about it. they've worked all week and practiced, and have still have another week of practice to go. nate sudfeld is a young, developing quarterback. and honestly, lauren, in football, the backup quarterback is always the most popular man in town, right? lauren: till they have to-- till they have to get on the field. dave: so, while they think that he will develop into a nice quarterback, right now nate's job is to support nick foles. nate takes no reps in practice. disaster would have to strike for nate sudfeld to play on saturday. lauren: some would say disaster has already struck. dave: it hasn't, though. here's what's so crazy, the eagles won three of the four

games that nick has played in. he came in los angeles and won the fourth quarter there. he went to new york, won that game, beat the oakland raiders, clinched number one seed. then he only played one season--one quarter last week against the dallas cowboys. he played here in 2013 against the saints, had a good game. when he left the field in that playoff game, the eagles led, so he's got playoff experience. the sky has not fallen here, philadelphia. next saturday, you will be hyped, you will be amped, you will watch the eagles win as a team in the playoffs. that's how they're going to do it. with carson wentz, the eagles led the lead in scoring, it was beautiful. touchdown, reigning touchdown. it's just a different way to win now, that's the approach. lauren: well, let's talk about that because we have heard from coach peterson, he has already said that the run game has to improve. what else does the team really need to work on? dave: i mean, they need to-- they need to run the football effectively. they need to catch the football effectively. they need to stop the mental mistakes, the penalties that have killed them. first and second down has really killed the eagles and put them

in third and long positions, so it's really going to take a team effort. and then, of course, look, you win with your defense as well. the eagles have played very good defense the last couple of weeks here. they're primed to do that at home. but we see here against the dallas cowboys last week a sloppy performance. you know, mistakes offensively in the quarter that they played. the eagles had been working all this past week, they're going to work in the week ahead, a little more physical practice, more intensity, and it will be a different team come saturday. lauren: and speaking of practice, coach peterson also has said that the players approached him and asked to practice in pads before the playoffs. is that an unusual request? dave: it's a little bit unusual. usually, you're really worn down at the end of the season, your hands hurt, your legs hurt, your back's sore, so you kind of ease into it. what the eagles have done, because they clinched the number one seed a couple of weeks ago, they were able to use the week prior to the dallas game to kind of scale back practices, ease off the players, get their legs back.

now, it's time to ramp things back up with padded practices, no tackling, but padded practices, feel physical, get that urgency, that intensity back. lauren: so, i know you say that, you know, disaster hasn't struck, but what do you say to the fans who are worried, stressed out maybe that, you know, it's going to be a one and done? you know, going to have the one playoff game and then you're out. dave: between this and the weather, philadelphia's in a-- up in arms here. here's what i say, enjoy the playoffs, okay? it's the first time since 2013, it doesn't happen all the time. this is a good football team, and i mean team. good defense, good special teams, and an offense that prior to the game against the oakland raiders had played very well all season. so, relax on saturday, enjoy it. watch the game right here no nbc10. enjoy it or go to the stadium, it's going to be electric, and let's hope this team and the city wins together. lauren: well, let's talk about maybe if you don't want to be relaxing, maybe you want to get out and burn off

a little steam for folks who maybe want to get in a better shape next year. let's talk about the eagles autism challenge. tell us what that is, when it's happening. dave: yeah, it's may 19, it's an organizational wide event. and we are asking eagles fans, everyone who cares about autism, which is obviously a lot of people, it affects so many families, to join in the cause. the entire organization will embark on this day and take part in three different races. there's a 15-mile, 30-mile, 50-mile. philadelphiaeagles.com has all the information. eaglesautismchallenge.org as well. it's a great cause, the entire team will be there. and who knows, you may be biking next to carson wentz, urging him to pick up the pace in may. that knee will be healthy enough to ride 50 miles, why can't you? lauren: that's a reason to go right there. thanks, dave. dave: thank you. erin: the eagles will play their first playoff game on saturday, january 13 at 4:35 p.m., and you could watch it right here on nbc10. your phone is filled with holiday pictures,

so what's the best way to print them? we're going to show you some apps that make printing a snap next.

erin: many of us took dozens of pictures on our smart phones this holiday season, and now it's time to print them. one way is to use a photo printing app. nbc's mike wendland has some tips. mike wendland: snapfish is a quick and simple option for printing out snapshots at an affordable price, starting with the 100 4x6 inch prints that you get free every month. you do have to pay for shipping. if you don't want to wait for your shots to arrive by mail, they'll partner with retailers like walmart, cvs, and walgreens, and you can order and pick them up locally. you can even use this app to get images printed on things like calendars, cards, and pillowcases. it's free for ios and android. the kodak moments app also offers the convenience of ordering pictures for pickup at many local retailers. it also allows you to order photos and have them shipped

right to you with all kinds of sizes and card stocks to choose from. you can even use photos to create one of a kind gifts like photo books, mugs, cards, magnets, and more also free for ios and android. and if you're looking for especially high quality photo prints, consider the mpix app. now, you'll pay a little bit more, but the quality is higher than you'll get from just about anywhere else. and you can order photos of any size, almost any kind of paper stock depending on how much you want to spend. the app itself is free for ios and android. i'm pc mike wendland for nbc news. erin: for more details about the photo printing apps, check out the nbc10 app, or log on to nbc10.com. that's it for this edition of nbc10@issue, thanks for joining us. i'm erin coleman, have a great sunday, and don't forget to join me again tomorrow and every weekday for your local news right here on nbc10. ♪

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