Arctic air to blast back this week
Polar vortex back in central, eastern parts
Central U.S. could see record cold; snow possible in East.
It’s back. After a brief tease of spring, this winter’s favorite whipping boy — a piece of the polar vortex — returns this week with a punishing blast of frigid air for much of the central and eastern USA.
“Record cold temperatures are possible for the High Plains, upper Midwest and Great Lakes later this week,” the National Weather Service warned.
These areas will endure several days of high temperatures only in the teens and single digits, AccuWeather predicts. This includes cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo.
Some locations will see temperatures as much as 40 degrees below average by midweek, according to the weather service.
The culprit is a piece of the polar vortex, which again will dive south into the eastern USA this week, as has been the case a few times this winter.
“The polar vortex is essentially a mass of very cold air that usually hangs out above the Arctic Circle and is contained by strong winds,” stated AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Frigid air will first affect the northern Plains today, the weather service predicts, before heading south and east.
By Wednesday, areas around the Great Lakes will have singledigit high temperatures, while parts of the Tennessee Valley will struggle to rise above freezing.
The unusual cold is forecast to stick around at least into the first week of March, according to the Climate Prediction Center, with the worst of the cold centered around the upper Midwest.
In addition to the cold, the Northeast — including the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to New York City to Boston — could see a disruptive snowstorm by midweek, AccuWeather forecast.
The cold snap will be most unwelcome in the Midwest, which has had a brutal winter. In Minneapolis-St. Paul, the cold spell will likely push the Twin Cities into the top 10 for the most subzero temperatures in a season, The Weather Channel said.