Arctic outbreak
Nation endures coldest weather in a generation
A historic Arctic outbreak continues to bring a bone-chilling deep freeze to the central United States as the coldest air in generations plunges south, accompanied by snow and ice all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
Some cities will break temperature records that are more than a century old as severe winter storms roll across the country.
An enormous swath of the central United States, from the Rockies to the Mississippi Valley and the Midwest, are experiencing temperatures about 50 degrees below average. Temperatures of minus 10 or colder could hit at least 15 states, while lows near the U.S.Canada border flirt with minus 40.
More than 50 million people could see temperatures dip below zero during the next several days as the record-setting deep freeze envelops the country.
“Extreme impacts” were likely, according to the National Weather Service.
Numerous daily temperature records are falling during this cold snap, and even some all-time records. The temperature in Bottineau, North Dakota, fell to minus 51 degrees Saturday morning, an all-time record. Bismarck reported a low of minus 28 early Saturday.
Grand Forks, North Dakota, hadn’t reported a temperature above zero since Feb. 6 and probably won’t until at least Monday afternoon. Saturday’s high temperature was minus 12, up from a morning low of minus 27.
Minneapolis had dropped below minus 10 degrees seven of the past nine nights, with Sunday’s low falling to minus 17. Subzero readings were also recorded in Omaha. Nebraska, Des Moines, Iowa, and Chicago, while International Falls, Minnesota, set a daily record early Saturday at minus 42 degrees.
In Texas, the electrical grid was under strain because of heavy demand from the cold.
Wind chill warnings and advisories are in effect from Nebraska to Illinois and northwest to Montana and the Dakotas, indicating the risk of frostbite from the combination of cold air and winds.
The cold air’s push south is associated with a deep dip in the jet stream, a narrow river of strong upper-level winds slicing across the country.
A large difference in temperatures between the frigid air and relatively mild air to the south and east is sparking the winter storms.
The cold pattern looks to ease late in the week, along with a moderation in temperatures
Depending on its effect on agriculture and the broader economy, this cold snap could end up on the list of 2021’s billion-dollar weather events because of its wide scope, duration and severity.