Below zero temps as storms hit Midwest
‘Weather battle zone’ likely to last all week
Winter storms roared into the nation’s midsection Sunday, threatening travel headaches through the week as the Upper Midwest hunkered down in biting cold and wind chills that could reach minus 50 degrees.
At least three storms will be responsible for the threat of ice and snow through Thursday, AccuWeather reported. The storms will be fueled by moisture coming off the Gulf of Mexico and colder air sweeping south. In some areas, the precipitation will be almost constant for days, AccuWeather said.
“Cold air will plunge far enough south to set up a weather battle zone much of the week,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
One major concern was that a glaze of ice could cause dangerous travel conditions from eastern Oklahoma into northwestern Arkansas and southern Missouri, he said.
In some places, it was just ridiculously cold. The National Weather Service office in Pocatello, Idaho, warned of highs Sunday struggling to climb above minus 10 degrees in some areas. Wind chills Sunday in parts of Colorado were well below zero in many areas Sunday, in some places dipping as low as minus 20 degrees.
In large parts of the region encompassing the Great Plains, Upper Midwest and the Intermountain West, temperatures Monday were expected to be 20-40 degrees below average, the National Weather Service said.
The weather service in Dallas-Fort Worth warned of freezing rain expected this week, tweeting, “Now is the time to prepare!” The most likely chance of dangerous weather is Monday night into Tuesday.
Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms were possible across parts of East Texas and the Gulf Coast states, the weather service warned. Some hail may occur with thunderstorms in Texas, and locally damaging winds and “perhaps a tornado or two” could storm across the region, the weather service said.
Parts of California will feel the effects of a new storm into Monday, AccuWeather reported. It was expected to bring gusty winds to Northern California before heading southeast and delivering precipitation. Thunderstorms in the south were also possible.