Bundle
up! The National Weather Service predicts that more than 250 new cold
records could be tied or set during the first half of the week.
Hundreds
of record low temperatures are in jeopardy across the eastern
two-thirds of the United States as a robust wave of Arctic air brings
dangerously cold conditions more reminiscent of mid-January than
November.
The core of the
cold first dipped down from Canada and into the far-northern Plains on
Monday morning. Temperatures plummeted below zero in Great Falls,
Montana, and Rapid City, South Dakota, early in the day after a blanket
of snow fell in the region over the weekend.
"The
cold will continue to shift south and east into Wednesday, finally
encompassing more than half of the country," said AccuWeather
Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
Hundreds if record low temps are in danger of being broken across the nation this week.
Monday
night and early on Tuesday morning, places like the Upper Midwest
through the middle Mississippi Valley are set to experience the coldest
air so far this season.
Thermometers
from Fargo, North Dakota, and Minneapolis to Chicago and Des Moines,
Iowa, will show temperatures in the single digits late Monday night, as
brisk winds help produce AccuWeather RealFeel™️ temperatures below zero.
Even
during the day on Tuesday, it will feel like the teens from North
Dakota and Minnesota through the Ohio Valley and parts of the Northeast.
With conditions this brutal, prolonged outdoor activities should be avoided.
As
the Arctic air shifts farther east, temperatures will bottom out late
Tuesday and early Wednesday across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
In fact, many major cities within the Northeast may set new record low temperatures on Wednesday morning.
Lows
in the teens in cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Albany,
New York City, are more common for late December or January. In fact,
New York City has a shot on Wednesday to break an all-time daily low
record temp from the 19th century. On November 13, 1873, the mercury
fell to 22 F in the Big Apple. This week's cold snap very well could
shatter that record.
This cold will help any snow falling early in the week
to stick around even longer. Locations that are not expected to get
snow, along the immediate Northeast coast, could experience a rapid
freeze-up, where puddles and wet spots become icy early on Wednesday.
Similar concerns will extend into the Southeast, where subfreezing temperatures will promote some slippery spots.
Those heading to school or work on Wednesday morning will want to dress warmly in heavier coats, as well as scarves and gloves.
Across
the Deep South, another concern will be the killing frost for
communities all the way to the Gulf Coast. Several cities across the
South, like Houston, Jackson, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama,
could shatter daily temperature records set in the early 20th century.
The Arctic outbreak across much of the country is not expected to be long-lived.
A storm gathering in the Gulf of Mexico
will help to usher in milder air across the Southeast late in the week;
however, temperatures will likely still be held at below-normal levels
for mid-November.
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