Polar vortex: most of the country must prepare for a bitter cold

Polar vortex: most of the country must prepare for a bitter cold

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A ‘flash freeze’ can accompany this storm as the temperature drops to one degree per hour, thus freezing any rain or melted snow on the ground quickly.

A ‘flash freeze’ occurs when rapidly falling temperatures ‘quickly change from wet or slippery roads to ice’, the Des Moines National Weather Service noted, warning that it is likely to cause major travel problems in Hawkeye State on Thursday.

The Arctic cold will also not spare the rest of the country. By Monday morning, 235 million Americans, or about 86% of the country, will be experiencing freezing temperatures. This includes each state in the bottom 48.

Blizzard offers the stage for extreme cold

Strong winds, snow and rapidly falling temperatures are expected from Friday from Nebraska to Michigan.

Blizzard warnings are across Central and Northern Iowa until Friday morning, while winter storm warnings and advice extend further east to Chicago and Grand Rapids.

The criteria for snowstorm do not necessarily require snow to fall from the sky.

As with this storm, only moderate accumulations are forecast, ranging from 2-5 centimeters in Des Moines and up to 8 centimeters in Green Bay. Higher totals can be expected windward from Lake Michigan in favorable Lake Effect areas, where up to a foot of snow is possible.

In front of the system, a wintery mix of rain and snow is forecast, while the temperature rises briefly before falling dramatically behind the cold front.

Winds are forecast to blow more than 45 miles per hour, which will blow snow and reduce visibility less than a quarter mile over parts of Iowa. As the mercury drops and the snow begins to drift over roads, conditions will deteriorate in an instant.

Waterloo, Mason City and Fort Dodge are predicted according to the NWS hazard matrix that they will experience “extreme” impacts from this strong storm.

Although storm surge warnings exist, the total snowfall will not be the biggest threat to this storm. The right stop is the cold air that will settle early next week.

A flash freezes to hit the Middle East

The coldest air will start diving south through the upper Midwestern and Great Lakes on Saturday. Places in Central Wisconsin could see the temperature drop to -25F on Sunday morning, with high temperatures struggling to make it zero. Lowest overnight can be cold enough to cause the antifreeze to solidify in your car.

“We get two to three of these cold snaps every year,” said meteorologist Marcia Cronce, National Weather Service. “We are heading for the coldest air of the season, it will feel shocking.”

“As temperatures drop about 25-30 degrees below the seasonal averages, parts of the Upper Midwest will be near the thresholds needed to cancel classes, or in the case of 2021,” said CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

Paul Districts in St. Paul cancels classes if the forecast at 06:00 for the next day is -25 F or it is predicted that wind chills will drop to -35 F.

The polar vortex is coming

These icy colds are compliments of the polar vortex, a large low-pressure area near the poles. During the winter months it breaks down and sends cold air that is filled up. This can be responsible for extremely icy temperatures and extremely cold showers.
The polar vortex has been weakened even more this year by the Sudden Stratospheric Warmings, which occur about six times a decade.

This will cause the polar vortex to weaken even further, causing bitter cold conditions.

The cold trend will continue for the next ten days.

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