National Weather Service issues ‘severe cold’ warning across the US

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that a bitterly cold arctic blast will move across the United States over the weekend, adding to an already stormy January across the country.

Arctic temperatures will move in from the west and impact the northern Rockies and northern Plains Thursday evening through Friday.

Cold air will move south and east through the Plains and Midwest over the weekend, with temperatures potentially reaching daily cold records across the south-central United States on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the NWS predicted.

Parts of Texas and the interior Southeast could see below-freezing winds early next week. Wind chills are expected to drop below -40 degrees in the Rocky Mountains and northern Plains through the weekend.

“This increases the risk of frostbite and hypothermia on exposed skin,” the NWS said in its advisory, adding that if you must travel, you should wear a cold weather survival kit.

A new storm is expected to form in the West on Friday due to colder air. “Significant impact” snow is expected to fall in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and Utah.

As the storm system moves eastward, the NWS predicts snow could fall through the Mid-Atlantic region Sunday into Monday into the interior south, and into the Northeast on Tuesday and Wednesday. did.

Polar vortex air typically stays 15 to 30 miles above Earth, but a small disruption last week increased the chance of cold air, Amy Butler, an atmospheric scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Hill. told parent company Nexstar. The company said in a statement:

Blizzard conditions with snow totals of 6 to 12 inches are possible heading into the Midwest, and the southern U.S. is bracing for potential tornadoes, The Hill previously reported.

The Southwest Power Pool, which oversees electricity reliability in 14 states, issued multiple advisories to energy utilities ahead of the storm, saying the storm poses a “higher than normal risk of power outages.” there is a possibility.