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US shivers in 'once-in-a-generation' polar vortex
Deadly cold weather has brought what meteorologists call a "once-in-a-generation" deep freeze to the US.
The extreme Arctic blasts, caused by a spinning pool of cold air known as the polar vortex, could bring wind chill temperatures as low as -53C (-64F).
Weather officials in the state of Iowa have warned people to "avoid taking deep breaths, and to minimise talking" if they go outside.
At least five people have been reported dead across several states.
More than 55 million people currently face below-freezing temperatures.
A state of emergency has been declared in the Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois as well as in the normally more clement southern states of Alabama and Mississippi.
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"Coldest air in a generation"
Polar vortex to bring coldest air in a generation - January 29, 2019
About 220 million people -- or 75% of the continental US population -- will endure below-freezing temperatures this week.
The biting cold already has caused at least one death in Minnesota and another in Illinois. In many parts of the country, the coldest weather is yet to come.
If you're 25 years old or younger, "you've never felt this cold before," CNN meteorologist Tom Sater said.
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Alligators freeze in North Carolina swamp with noses above ice
by The Associated Press Thursday, January 24th 2019
"The Charlotte Observer reports The Swamp Park manager George Howard says 18 American alligators froze Monday night and stayed frozen all day Tuesday. He says the alligators seem to sense when the water is at its freezing point and poke their noses into the air “at just the right moment.”
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Elizabeth Maciel
January 30
"A flight attendant's view of Chicago today."
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"Life-Threatening Sub-Zero Temperatures..."
Three-Quarters Of The US Will Face Potentially Life-Threatening Sub-Zero Temperatures This Week.
Over the next few days, 220 million people living in the continental US – about 75 percent of Americans – will see temperatures drop below freezing as Arctic air blasts southward.
“Back to back cold fronts will slice through the eastern two-thirds of the country to deliver one of the coldest arctic air intrusions in recent memory,” writes the National Weather Service (NWS) on its website. "Frigid temperatures and bitterly cold wind chills” will likely result in widespread record lows across much of the country, culminating in a combination of winter storm and wind chill warnings, watches, and advisories across the central part of the country.
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Early and record breaking snowfall
From thanksgiving to December 1, it snowed. A lot.
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Apr 9: "'Historic springtime snowstorm' wallops Rockies, north-central US as it intensifies"
Snow is coming down fast and furious in the Rockies and north-central U.S. and is expected to accumulate up to 30 inches in some pockets. Meanwhile, thunder and lightning are accompanying the intense snowfall in some areas.
The storm blasted parts of the West with heavy rain, heavy mountain snow, power-cutting winds and blowing dust on Tuesday with more on the way into Wednesday night. The early stages of the storm knocked out power to 50,000 in the Los Angeles area and kicked up dramatic dust storms in Nevada.
The already massive storm will continue to gain strength across the nation's heartland into Thursday.
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Blizzard to wallop parts of the North with up to 2 feet of snow
An unusually early winter storm / blizzard is gearing up to hit the upper North West of the country in the next day to three.
Snowfall is already falling across parts of South Western Canada and will extend in a general south easterly direction in the next 12 to 24 hours affecting parts of Oregon and Washington state (especially the East), and much of the northern Rockies mountain range, Idaho, north western Wyoming and central and western Montana. Largely 4-8 inches of snow is likely to fall in these areas.
To areas of lower elevation, a mixture of rain / sleet is possible. This could lead to development of ice.
By Sunday the snow is likely to become really quite heavy (or even very heavy) across western Montana and nearby areas such as northern Idaho, producing snowfall rates of up to 3 inches per hour locally. This means, some areas, especially on higher ground, could see 2 or potentially even 3 feet of snow, in the mountains of Montana. Great news for the Ski resorts of course!
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Iowa will be colder than parts of Antarctica on Wednesday — and it won't be close
Des Moines Register Published 9:03 a.m. CT Jan. 29, 2019 | Updated 12:52 p.m. CT Jan. 29, 2019
Want to escape the dangerous cold this week? Consider booking a flight to Canada.
According to forecasts from the National Weather Service and the Weather Channel, at 10 a.m., when the temperature in Des Moines is expected to be minus 20, the forecast temperature in Toronto, Ontario, is 3 degrees. In Calgary, Alberta, it's expected to reach 27, and Vancouverites will be breaking out their Hawaiian shirts with downright balmy temperatures in the mid-40s.
Don't think those cities are far enough north? Des Moines is also expected to out-freeze Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in the United States. When it's minus 20 in Iowa on Wednesday, the National Weather Service says it will be just minus 10 at the northern tip of Alaska.
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In the scheme of things, this cold outbreak ranks with the worst according to Wikipedia
The 1936 North American cold wave ranks among the most intense cold waves in the recorded history of North America. The Midwestern United States and the Canadian Prairies were hit the hardest. Only the Southwestern United States and California largely escaped its effects.
February 1936 was the coldest February on record in the contiguous U.S., narrowly eclipsing February 1899.[1] It also was the coldest month ever in Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
The meteorological winter (December through February) of 1935/36 was the coldest on record for Iowa,[2] Minnesota,[3] North Dakota,[4] and South Dakota.[5] This winter was much colder than the immediately preceding winters. 1930 through 1934 had very mild winters in the U.S. 1930/31 was warm in the western north central states; 1931/32 in the mid- and south-Atlantic states, the eastern north central states, and the eastern south central states; 1932/33 in New England; and, 1933/34 in the mountain and Pacific states.[6] In the northern plains, the Februaries of 1925, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931, and 1935 are among the 25 warmest Februaries between 1895 and 2017, although 1929 had the third-coldest February of all-time.[7]
The sea froze partially as far south as Chesapeake Bay.[citation needed] From January 25 to 28, the east had its coldest January temperatures in eighteen years, with Washington, D. C. averaging 14 °F (−10.0 °C)[18] High winds in some locations caused wind chills below −85 °F (−65.0 °C). In Ohio and the Centralia district of Illinois,[19] the cold destroyed the peach crop, whilst defective heaters caused numerous dangerous fires in Minnesota.[18]
The Cold wave of January 1977 produced the only known trace of snow in the greater Miami area of Florida ever reported, although the city itself did not report any snow (a trace of snow was documented in Lake Worth). It occurred following the passage of a strong cold front, in combination with a high-pressure area situated over the Mississippi River Valley. As a result, cold air moved far to the south across Florida, causing both snow flurries and record low temperatures. Most notably, the weather system brought snow flurries (seen in the air, but not on the ground) as far south as Homestead on January 19. No snow had ever been reported in southeastern Florida before or since.
January 1977 is the coldest month on record in the state of Ohio, with an average temperature of 11.9 degrees. Snowfall was above average throughout the month and the all-time record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was set in Cincinnati. The Ohio River froze solid for the first time since 1918, halting commercial shipping for weeks. Some parts of northern Ohio stayed below freezing for the entire month [10]. Temperatures did not rise above freezing the entire month in a swath from eastern Iowa to western Pennsylvania northward.
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