Deep Freeze Will Send Some US Temperatures Plunging

Waves of aggravated acold volition nonstop temperatures plunging arsenic overmuch arsenic 20F (11C) beneath mean crossed the cardinal and eastbound U.S. this month, triggering crystal storms that could down powerfulness lines and snarl question from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic.

The worst of the heavy frost volition beryllium centered connected the Ohio Valley and bluish Missouri adjacent week, according to Commodity Weather Group LLC. Cincinnati’s precocious is forecast to scope lone 17F connected Jan. 8. The arctic outbreak is expected to dispersed southbound and eastbound the pursuing week, with Mississippi, South Carolina and Florida apt to spot abnormally debased temperatures.

There’s besides a accidental of a terrible crystal tempest from eastbound Kansas into occidental Virginia done Jan. 5, putting the portion astatine hazard of powerfulness outages. A wintertime tempest volition besides expanse crossed bluish Missouri and the Ohio Valley. About 6 inches (15 centimeters) oregon much of snowfall is apt successful the Central Plains and Mississippi Valley northbound of Interstate 70, according to the U.S. Weather Prediction Center.

In upstate New York, arsenic overmuch arsenic 1 to 2 feet of snowfall is apt southbound of Buffalo done the weekend, the National Weather Service said. Northern Cayuga and Oswego could get up to 3 feet.

This month’s chill means the US could acquisition the coldest January since 2011, according to Paul Pastelok, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. Prices for earthy state and diesel are already climbing successful effect to the forecasts.

Still, the wintry conditions aren’t expected to comparison with the tempest 4 years agone that killed much than 200 radical successful the cardinal US and led to the illness of Texas’ electrical grid. There’s besides nary motion of a breakdown of the polar vortex, the girdle of winds trapping acold aerial adjacent the poles. That script astir a decennary agone unleashed a frigid blast successful the eastbound U.S.

High temperatures successful Texas volition apt driblet into the 40s F adjacent week, which is astir 15F beneath normal, said Steve Fano, a National Weather Service meteorologist successful Dallas-Fort Worth. Fano said the worst of the acold astir Dallas volition statesman to easiness up by January 10 oregon 11 and past temperatures should instrumentality to mean done the mediate of the month.

Top photo: People bask a snowy greeting successful Prospect Park connected December 21, 2024 successful the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Parts of New York City received up to 2 inches of snowfall overnight successful the archetypal snowfall accumulation of the season. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images).

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics USA