2024-01-16 18:20:00
(CNN) — A brutal arctic blast is bringing record low temperatures and life-threatening chills to a large swath of the United States as snow and freezing rain spread from the south to the northeast of the country. This is what you should know.
-Record streaks without snow end: Enough snow fell in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., to end nearly two-year waits for 1 inch of snow there. All cities recorded at least 25mm of snow in 24 hours, something that had not been done in more than 700 days in all locations. The gusts were record high in Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and Dulles International Airport in the Washington, DC area.
– Record low temperatures: Nearly 80% of the United States will experience below-freezing temperatures this week. Numerous daily cold records have already been broken — including in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas — and Maine could break them this Tuesday in the central and southern United States. Temperatures in Memphis, Dallas and Nashville are expected to remain below freezing for at least 72 consecutive hours.
– Freezing can occur in a matter of minutes: More than 120 million people are under wind chill alert from the Canadian to the Mexican border. Much of the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains and Midwest will see life-threatening below-zero wind chills on Tuesday, with wind chills below -30 degrees Celsius in the Central Plains and Middle Mississippi Valley. “These low temperatures could cause frostbite to exposed skin within minutes and hypothermia shortly thereafter,” the National Weather Service warned.
– Deaths in five states: Since January 12, at least five deaths have been reported in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi and Tennessee due to back-to-back winter storms that have battered the United States with dangerous winds, ice and snow. One person was killed and another injured in Arkansas after his pickup truck ran off a snowy White County road and crashed into a tree, according to state police.
– Icy roads make travel dangerous: As snow reaches New York and New England and moves further north this Tuesday, the weather service warned travelers to plan for slippery roads and hazardous travel conditions that could become very difficult. The South already saw icy road conditions on Monday, with the Tennessee Department of Transportation responding to hundreds of highway incidents and warning “conditions will remain hazardous for at least the next 24 hours.”
– Schools are closed: Districts in more than a half-dozen states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia, announced closures amid frigid temperatures.
Snow and freezing rain in the northeast of the country
As dangerously cold temperatures continue across much of the U.S. — with more than 80 million people under winter weather advisories across more than 1,500 miles from the Texas-Louisiana border to the Maine-Canada border — Snow and freezing rain over the South will spread into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through Tuesday.
Along the Great Lakes coast, heavy lake-effect snowfall is expected and will cause major headaches for travelers. Lake effect snow occurs when cold air moves across open water, leaving the Great Lakes unfrozen, creating narrow bands that produce 2 to 3 feet of snow per hour or more.
Buffalo, New York, is under a winter storm watch through Thursday night, with heavy lake-effect snowfall of 8 to 18 inches and possible gusts of up to 40 mph. Watertown, also under a winter storm watch through early Friday, could see heavy lake-effect snowfall possibly between 2 and 3 feet.
“Travel could be very difficult or impossible. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility,” the National Weather Service office in Buffalo warned. “Dangerous conditions could affect this Wednesday morning and evening.”
This region had just received over three feet of snowfall from a previous round of very heavy lake effect snowfall.
New York City is expected to receive between 2 and 4 inches of snow through Tuesday, after not receiving even an inch of snow on a single day in more than 700 days, according to the National Weather Service.
Washington is expected to receive at least 10 to 15 centimeters of snow this Tuesday. The city received more than an inch of snow on Monday, ending a streak for the city that had not received any snow in 673 days.
Storm threatens 3 million in the Pacific
As the Northeast faces heavy snowfall, another storm will move over the Pacific Northwest between Tuesday and Wednesday. The system will produce rain in parts of the Pacific Northwest to California, with snow in higher areas.
Tuesday’s storm prompted the National Weather Service to issue an ice storm warning for more than 3 million people across the Pacific Northwest, including Portland. The ice storm warning is in effect from 4 pm Tuesday until 10 am Wednesday Pacific Time.
The region could see ice accumulations of around 1.5 centimeters, but locally up to 2.5 centimeters near the Columbia River Gorge and throughout eastern Skamania County. In addition to ice, gusts of up to 80 km/ha are possible along the Columbia River Gorge. Snowfall of between 7 and 15 centimeters is also expected.
Winter storm warnings extended across the Cascades and Northern Rockies. Warnings across the Cascades indicate that between 12 and 36 inches of snow will fall between 4 p.m. Tuesday and 1 p.m. Thursday Pacific Time. Warnings in northeast Washington, northern Idaho and northwest Montana call for up to 24 inches of snow at higher elevations between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. Thursday.
Subzero wind chill and danger of frostbite
Wind chill temperatures, that is, the cold you feel when outdoors due to heat loss from exposed skin, are expected to reach dangerous lows causing frostbite and hypothermia.
Dangerous lows of up to 40 degrees Celsius below zero are expected in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa, and in Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle up to 31 degrees Celsius below zero until Tuesday. “The dangerously cold wind chill could cause frostbite to exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes,” the weather service warned.
The parts most susceptible to frostbite are the fingers and toes, earlobes and the tip of the nose, according to the weather service. Symptoms include loss of sensation in the limb and a white or pale appearance.
“Avoid outdoor activities if possible. If you must be outdoors, wear appropriate clothing, dress in layers, and cover exposed skin. Keep pets indoors,” the National Weather Service said. “Have a survival kit against the cold if you must travel.”
Although temperatures are expected to moderate by midweek, a new wave of colder air will arrive over the northern Plains and the Midwest and Deep South by the end of the week, according to the weather service.
— CNN Meteorologist Sara Tonks and CNN’s Zenebou Sylla, Sarah Dewberry, Amy Simonson and Andi Babineau contributed to this report.
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