Think it’s cold now? Just wait for this week’s Arctic blast that’s poised to break records
It’s cold right now, but the next hit of Arctic air will take things to another level. After this last winter storm More than 200 million people will wake up to freezing temperatures across the country as the coldest weather of the season spreads across the Plains, Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast. This widespread decline brings dozens of daily records into play.
After a few snowfalls last week, the Midwest is now bracing for its coldest temperatures of the season.
Bitter cold from Canada also descends on the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest on Wednesday. High temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees below normal, with parts of the Dakotas struggling to reach 10 degrees. More than a dozen cities in the Upper Midwest could set new record cold daily records.
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Thursday morning will be the coldest morning, as actual air temperatures are expected to drop into double digits below zero as far south as Iowa and Nebraska. Wind chills of -10 to -25 degrees will be common.
Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, are poised to break daily low temperature records on Thursday, dropping to -11 degrees and -7 degrees, respectively. Cedar Rapids was able to warm into the single digits above zero Thursday afternoon, which would set a new record for the lowest high temperature of the day.
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Afternoon temperatures will remain stuck in the teens across much of the Midwest; Early December is 20 to 30 degrees lower than normal.
Records could also fall from Illinois to the East Coast on Friday morning. Chicago could fall below the daily low temperature record of 4 degrees, while Indianapolis could approach the 8-degree record last set in 1886. Low temperatures will reach the teens across Pennsylvania, with daily records set in many cities.
Friday morning will be the coldest day in New York since early March, with a low temperature around 20 degrees. Records could fall for the city’s JFK and LaGuardia airports. The wind chill will hurt you.
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Blame the polar vortex
Winter storms that hit the United States this week and are forecast to occur in the next few weeks may be due in large part to the displacement of the polar vortex that began in late November, researchers told CNN.
The polar vortex is a circular current of strong winds over the North Pole that can trap cold air in that area. But recently it has weakened and shifted southward into the mid-latitudes, spreading cold Arctic air over densely populated areas.
This could create stormier conditions as cold air from the north collides with relatively warmer air, said Andrea Lopez Lang, a meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A weak polar vortex also means a wavier jet stream. These are wind currents that flow from west to east across the Northern Hemisphere. Meteorologist Judah Cohen of MIT said a choppy jet stream could be damaging to weather conditions for people.
For the remainder of December, we can expect frequent oscillations between below-average conditions and freezing temperatures as storms progress.
But Lopez Lang warned that this polar vortex event is not the only factor behind the upcoming temperature swings. “It definitely contributes, but that’s not the whole story,” he said.
Has the bitter cold come to an end? NOAA research meteorologist Amy Butler warned that another cold shock wave is expected by mid-December. “It looks like the polar vortex will spread further into North America in about 7-10 days,” he said.
We’re still about three weeks away from the official start of winter, but Mother Nature is getting quite a head start.
CNN Meteorologists Mary Gilbert and Taylor Ward contributed to this report.
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