'Warming up to 24 below zero:' Record cold surges across central U.S.
A bitter blast of Arctic air – which is related to the polar vortex – is roaring south across the central U.S. Tuesday, bringing with it record-cold temperatures and "dangerously" low wind chills. Extreme cold warnings and cold weather advisories span the northern Plains and upper Midwest down to central Texas.
"Some of the harshest conditions of the winter will be felt in the upcoming five to seven days," said AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski in an online forecast.
"Be sure to dress in layers including a hat, face mask, and gloves if you must go outside," the National Weather Service advised.
Over a hundred daily record lows could be set from the Plains to the northern Gulf Coast through Friday mornings, Weather.com reported. Some of that cold air will also spill into the East, including much of Florida.
"The cold will envelop the entire nation east of the Mississippi from late (this) week into (the) weekend," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Joe Lundberg said.
How cold will it get?
With the frigid air mass's continued southward plunge, temperatures well below zero are forecast from Montana and the Dakotas to the Upper Midwest and sections of the central Plains, with minus 30s near the Canadianborder by Wednesday morning, the weather service said.
Wind chills will reach dangerously cold levels between minus 30 and minus 60 degrees in these areas. "The wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in minutes, and hypothermia shortly thereafter," the weather service in Bismarck, North Dakota, said.
High temperatures are forecast to only stay in the single digits for the next couple of afternoons in the central Plains, setting numerous cold high-temperature records.
By Thursday morning, the arctic air will reach the Gulf Coast, where temperatures are forecast to dip below freezing with numerous low-temperature records expected to be broken from the central Plains southward to the Gulf Coast.
“On Thursday morning, 87% of the contiguous United States will have temperatures below freezing,” WGN-TV weather producer Bill Snyder told Block Club Chicago. “It’s a pretty impressive breed of cold we’re going to endure.”
'Warmed up to 24 below zero'
In Minot, North Dakota, city spokeswoman Jen Kleen her car's temperature gauge said it was minus 32 degrees while she was driving to work on Tuesday morning. It had warmed up to minus 24 degrees by the time she'd arrived.
"At a certain point, you can only put on so many layers," she said.
A water main beneath one of the city's main streets burst Monday, flooding and freezing an intersection, and crews worked for hours in minus 20-degree temperatures to make repairs, Kleen said. She said residents are trickling their faucets to prevent freezing pipes, and worried that the cold may cause power lines to snap.
"We have a lot of appreciation for our utilities folks who are keeping us going," Kleen said. "We have one more night of the really cold stuff. By next Friday maybe it will be 40 degrees out."
Asphalt failing in North Dakota
In Bismarck, North Dakota, state patrol Sgt. Jenna Clawson Huibregtse said the extreme cold has been causing problems for drivers, in part, because asphalt patches on the roads are failing, buckling and causing flat tires. She said she's been reminding troopers to keep every bit of skin covered when they're outside – even to the point of wearing ski goggles if necessary.
"People are saying at least it's not windy," she said. "We just try to hold onto those happy thoughts about warmer weather and wait for things to warm up."
Frigid, then mild in Chicago
In Chicago, after several days of bitter cold, some milder air will be on the way. High temperatures will reach the 20s by the end of the week, the 30s by the weekend and the 40s by early next week, according to Snyder of WGN-TV.
“Seven days from now, you’re going to have temperatures that feel 50 to 60 degrees, if not even more, warmer than we have this week,” Snyder said to Block Club Chicago.
“It’s amazing how fast things can change!” he said.
Cold reaches to Colorado
Across Colorado, the cold temperatures arrived following a welcome dumping of snow for ski resorts. Vail reported 53 inches of snowfall over the past week, but temperatures on Monday night fell to about zero overnight and were expected to drop even further Tuesday night, with some forecasts calling for minus 3 degrees.
In response to the cold, Denver city officials opened a temporary around-the-clock warming shelter for people living without permanent shelter. Cold temperatures are one of the biggest causes of death and injury for unhoused people.
Crashes caused by the snow and cold prompted Colorado Department of Transportation officials to close portions of north-south Interstate 25 near the Wyoming border, and east near the Nebraska border, CDOT weather stations showed temperatures of around minus 8 degrees.
Dangerous in Dallas
Temperatures and wind chills will plummet later today, reaching dangerously cold levels each night this week, the weather service in Dallas said. "The coldest conditions will be Wednesday and Thursday mornings as a few locations experience wind chills near minus 10 degrees."
The weather service said that "conditions will be life-threatening for unsheltered or marginally sheltered populations."
"Bundle up if you will be outdoors! Don't forget to check on your neighbors and pets! Protect outdoor pipes and let the indoor faucets drip."