A polar vortex moving toward the U.S. could bring cold winds and low temperatures this week, making January the coldest month in more than a decade.
According to the National Weather ServiceThe Arctic blast will affect much of the country, arriving in the northern Rockies and is expected to spread to the East Coast by New Year’s Day.
‘A significant change in pattern is expected across much of the country as an Arctic outbreak is forecast to spread south and east from the northern plains, leading to exceptionally high chances of below-normal temperatures in a much of the east are expected,” the NWS said.
The plunge will bring chills to the Midwest, with temperatures dropping below zero in at least 30 states.
“The coldest air of the season yet and dangerous wind chills are likely in many parts of the Southeast,” the NWS warned.
In some areas, temperatures are forecast to average around 20 degrees, while freezing conditions can be expected on the Gulf Coast and even in Florida.
Snowfall is also possible in parts of the Southern Plains and the Southeast, with heavy snow likely in the Appalachians, Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and the Northeast.
A further drop in temperatures is expected next week, and temperatures in Central and Eastern America are forecast to remain below normal for much of January.
January’s freezing temperatures come after an unusually warm end to December across the country
A polar vortex heading toward the US could bring cold winds and low temperatures this week, making January the coldest month in more than a decade
The Arctic blast will affect much of the country, according to the National Weather Service. It is arriving in the northern Rockies and is expected to have spread to the East Coast by Wednesday.
Such nosedives occur when air currents that keep the air above the North Pole icy – the polar vortex – weaken, causing icy Arctic air to slide south, pushing the vortex down with it.
That means arctic air is blown over the US as pressure changes create strong winds.
Some states will experience their coldest winter in years.
In Washington DC, the temperature has not dropped below zero since January 31, 2019.
The same threshold has not been met in Philadelphia since January 19, 1994.
Meanwhile, temperatures in Atlanta have only dropped below zero three times since 2000, and the last time temperatures in Raleigh, North Carolina fell below 10 degrees was in 2018.
January’s freezing temperatures come after an unusually warm end to December across the country.
Freezing temperatures could increase demand for heat and electricity and put pressure on the U.S. power grid.
The plunge will bring chills to the Midwest, with temperatures dropping below zero in at least 30 states
These types of nosedives occur when air currents that keep the air above the North Pole icy weaken, causing icy Arctic air to slide south.
That means arctic air is blown over the US as pressure changes create strong winds
In some areas, temperatures are forecast to average around 20 degrees
Some states will experience their coldest winter in years
It comes a decade after nearly 187 million Americans were hit by a polar vortex in 2014, which brought a vortex of frigid, dense air across the country.
With wind chills stretching from Montana to Alabama, much of the US experienced its coldest temperatures in nearly two decades.
The coldest temperature reported in a 24-hour period was -36 degrees in Crane Lake, Minnesota.
Then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for thirteen counties in the western part of the state.
In addition, more than twenty people across the country died from the cold as they faced extremely low temperatures.