Cancel all your plans this week—you’re staying indoors. The North Pole has unleashed "a large pool of Arctic air" that’s headed straight to the U.S., setting the stage for "record cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills," warns the National Weather Service in a new report.
Already this week, parts of Montana saw wind chills drop to minus-50 Fahrenheit, while North Dakota had wind chills as low as minus-60—leading the NWS to warn of "life-threatening cold," as the Associated Press reported. Unfortunately, the cold spell is just beginning. Keep reading to see how your region will be impacted.
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A shock of "bitter Arctic air" is hitting the Midwest and Northeast this week.
North Pole-level wind chills and temperatures will strike 20 states this week, marking the country’s 10th consecutive polar vortex of the season. The Midwest and Northeast will face the brunt of the storm, with some areas dipping 40 degrees below zero. The harshest of conditions are expected to hit these regions on Wednesday and Thursday.
"A potent high pressure system" is churning in the heartland, bringing an "extremely cold airmass" and "accumulating snow, sleet, and freezing rain" in the coming days, says the NWS. It’s going to feel like an "Arctic freezer."
By midweek, meteorologists are predicting the storm to take a nosedive—meaning southern states like Mississippi and Georgia could hit below freezing as well. "One final surge of arctic air follows down through Texas in the wake of the storm with record lows," reports AccuWeather senior meteorologist Joe Lundberg. "The cold will then envelop the entire nation east of the Mississippi from late [this] week into [the] weekend."
Wind gusts will peak at minus-40, with the average being minus-20.
Before you go outside, check the "feels like" radar on your phone’s weather app—extreme wind gusts will make it feel 20 to 40 degrees colder. Data from The Washington Post shows a "mass of freezing air" surging eastward from Montana to the Atlantic coast, dipping as far south as Oklahoma. As for what your region can expect, the WaPo put together the following breakdown:
- Below minus-40: North Dakota
- Below minus-30: Montana and South Dakota
- Below minus-20: Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa
- Below minus-10: Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine
- Below zero: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts
"Extreme Cold Warnings and Cold Weather Advisories are currently span across the northern Plains and upper Midwest down to central Texas. Be sure to dress in layers including a hat, face mask, and gloves if you must go outside," reads a stark alert from the NWS.
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Some states will get up to a foot of snow.
"The eastward and southward expansion of the cold early [this] week sets the stage for the next storm in the pipeline, one that will spread snow across portions of Nebraska, Kansas and northern Oklahoma into Missouri Monday night and Tuesday," said Lundberg.
A fresh blanket of snow and "a swath of sleet/freezing rain" will hit the Pacific Northwest and Gulf Coast starting Wednesday, says the NWS.
AccuWeather reports this storm may produce "some of the heftiest snowfalls" to hit the mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England this winter. However, this means major cities like New York City and Washington D.C. might not see snow at all. The Washington Post put the following snow tracker together:
- Tuesday: South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky
- Wednesday: Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina
- Thursday: Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts
