Polar vortex heading for US sending temperatures plunging and making January the coldest for a decade
By SABRINA PENTYPublished: 05:15 EST, 31 December 2024
A polar vortex headed for the US could bring cold winds and low temperatures this week, making January the coldest month in over a decade.
According to the National Weather Service, the arctic blast will affect a large swathe of the country, arriving in the northern Rockies and expected to have spread to the East Coast by New Year's Day.
'A significant pattern change is expected across much of the country as an Arctic Outbreak is forecast to spread form the Northern Plains to the south and east, leading to exceptionally high probabilities of below-normal temperatures expected across much of the East', the NWS said.
The plunge will bring wind chills across the Midwest with temperatures dipping below zero in at least 30 states.
'The coldest air of the season to date and dangerous wind chills chills are likely across many areas of the Southeast', the NWS warned.
In some areas, temperatures are forecasted to reach an average of around 20 degrees, while freezing conditions in the Gulf coast and even Florida could be expected.
Snowfall is also possible across parts of the Southern Plains and the Southeast with the potential for heavy snowfall expected in the Appalachians, Ohio Valley, the Great Lakes and the Northeast.
A further drop in temperatures is expected next week, and below normal temperatures are predicted to affect central and eastern US during much of January.
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January's freezing temperatures will come after an unusually warm end to the month of December across the country
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A polar vortex headed for the US could bring cold winds and low temperatures this week, making January the coldest month in over a decade
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According to the National Weather Service, the arctic blast will affect a large swathe of the country, arriving in the northern Rockies and expected to have spread to the East Coast by Wednesday
Plunges like these occur when air currents that keep air frosty over the North Pole - the polar vortex - weaken, making freezing arctic air slip south and push the vortex down with it.
That means arctic air is blasted over the US, while pressure changes cause strong winds.
Some states will be experiencing their coldest winter in years.
In Washington DC, the temperature hasn't dropped below zero since January 31, 2019.
In Philadelphia, the same threshold has not been met since January 19, 1994.
Meanwhile, Atlanta's temperatures have only dipped below zero three times since 2000, and the last time Raleigh, North Carolina's temperatures fell below 10 degrees was in 2018.
January's freezing temperatures will come after an unusually warm end to the month of December across the country.
Freezing temperatures could increase demands for heat and electricity and put a strain on the US electrical grid.
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The plunge will bring wind chills across the Midwest with temperatures dipping below zero in at least 30 states
Visualisation shows unusually cold month of snow in US and Canada
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Plunges like these occur when air currents that keep air frosty over the North Pole weaken, making freezing arctic air slip south
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View gallery
That means arctic air is blasted over the US, while pressure changes cause strong winds
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View gallery
In some areas, temperatures are forecasted to reach an average of around 20 degrees
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View gallery
Some states will be experiencing their coldest winter in years
It comes a decade after nearly 187 million Americans were affected by a polar vortex in 2014 which brought a whirlpool of frigid, dense air across the country.
With wind chills that stretched from Montana to Alabama, much of the US experienced the coldest temperatures in almost 20 years.
The coldest temperature reported in a 24-hour period was -36 degrees at Crane Lake, Minnesota.
New York Governor at the time Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency covering 13 counties in the western part of the state.
In addition, more than 20 people across the country died from the cold as they dealt with severely low temperatures.
Polar vortex heading for US sending temperatures plunging
According to the National Weather Service, the arctic blast will affect a large swathe of the country, arriving in the northern Rockies and expected to have spread to the East Coast by New Year's Day.
