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'Minimize talking' outside: Polar vortex bears down on North as Deep South braces for snow
A major snowstorm that lashed parts of the Midwest on Monday will give way to record-smashing cold this week as a powerful polar vortex drives a deep freeze across the eastern half of the nation, forecasters said.
A snowstorm will wreak havoc across the Deep South on Tuesday.
The bitter cold will bring below-zero temperatures to a quarter of the continental USA. The National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa, warned that "this is the coldest air many of us will have ever experienced." The service said that if people go outside, they should "avoid taking deep breaths, and minimize talking."
Schools could be closed in Iowa as buses may struggle to start, the weather service said.
Wednesday could be the coldest day ever recorded in Chicago – a forecast high of 14 below zero, the weather service said. There's a chance the Windy City will break its all-time coldest temperature record of 27 degrees below zero. Chicago's famous Brookfield Zoo will be closed Wednesday and Thursday for only the fourth time in its 85-year history.
"Some locations in the Midwest will be below zero continuously for 48-72 hours," according to AccuWeather meteorologist Mike Doll.
Chicago Faces Colder-Than-Arctic Blast Nearing All-Time Record
It could be warmer above the Arctic Circle than in Chicago by Wednesday, with temperatures forecast to fall in the Windy City to 20-to-25 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus-29 to minus-32 Celsius).
New York and Washington will be warmer, with a bit of snow.
Chicago is expected to approach an all-time record low of minus 27, set in 1985, according to Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. Wind chill, meanwhile, could feel closer to minus-40 to minus-45.
"That is pretty amazing," Hurley said by telephone on Monday. But there's hope ahead for the weekend, when the cold is forecast to retreat across the U.S., with temperatures returning to seasonal levels or warmer, Hurley added.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 30 2019, @04:02AM (4 children)
I'm near chicago. I just stepped outside in shorts and a tee shirt and am fine.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Wednesday January 30 2019, @04:20AM (2 children)
Wonderful. Hey manly man, care to spend a couple hours outside in that outfit and report back?
No one is saying it's cold enough to cause instant death or some such nonsense. But for things you are used to doing outside for extended periods, you may want to take some precautions, make sure you're properly dressed for the activity, etc.
Don't forget there are people called children too. Children seem to have a weird capacity to do stupid things in the cold and not realize how cold some parts of their bodies are getting if they are playing. Is it irrational for parents to warn their kids or make sure they are dressed properly if the kids aren't used to the temperatures? Is it irrational for the weather service or the government to make parents aware that they might want to take extra precautions?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 30 2019, @05:11AM (1 child)
Sure is frustrating dealing with trolls, try not to feed them.
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Wednesday January 30 2019, @01:12PM
This whole thread on this article is full of trolls, many of whom were modded up. At some point it needs to be called out.
But yeah, generally I agree.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday January 31 2019, @02:55AM
And is it any harder to count to ten now?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex