Forecasters are warning of treacherous vacation journey and life-threatening chilly for a lot of the nation as an arctic air mass blows into the already-frigid southern United States.
“We’re taking a look at much-below regular temperatures, probably record-low temperatures main as much as the Christmas vacation,” mentioned Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the Nationwide Climate Service.
The “uncommon and unsafe arctic air mass will probably convey excessive and extended freezing situations for southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana,” the Nationwide Climate Service in a particular climate assertion Sunday.
By Thursday night time, temperatures will plunge as little as 13 levels in Jackson, Mississippi; and round 5 levels in Nashville, Tennessee, the Nationwide Climate Service predicts.
The incoming artic air arrives as an earlier storm system within the Northeastern U.S. steadily winds down after burying elements of the area beneath two ft of snow. Greater than 80,000 prospects in New England had been nonetheless with out energy on Sunday morning, in keeping with poweroutage.us, which tracks outages throughout the nation.
For a lot of the U.S., the winter climate will worsen earlier than it will get higher. The approaching week will convey the potential for a “important winter storm” throughout the jap two-thirds of the USA in the course of the second half of the week, simply earlier than Christmas, in keeping with the most recent forecasts from the federal Climate Prediction Heart in Faculty Park, Maryland.
“The principle climate story that may make climate headlines subsequent week would be the large expanse of frigid temperatures from the Northern Rockies/Northern Plains to the Midwest by means of the center of the week, after which reaching the Gulf Coast and far of the Jap U.S. by Friday and into the weekend,” the Climate Prediction Heart warned.
“An especially robust arctic entrance will usher within the coldest air of the season by a substantial margin with the expectation of widespread subzero readings for in a single day lows from the Northern Rockies to the central/northern Plains and the Higher Midwest, reaching as far south as northern Oklahoma and southern Missouri.”
In Atlanta, the place the low temperature is anticipated to drop beneath freezing early Monday morning, forecasters warn of even colder air by late within the week, in keeping with the Nationwide Climate Service workplace in Peachtree Metropolis, Georgia. The low Friday night time in Atlanta will probably be round 13 levels with the excessive temperature on Saturday nonetheless beneath the freezing mark at round 29 levels, the Climate Service tasks.
Florida won’t have a white Christmas, however forecasters expect that weekend to be unusually chilly all through the state.
Northern Florida cities akin to Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Pensacola have predicted lows within the 20s on Christmas Eve, with highs of about 40. Orlando and Tampa usually are not anticipated to interrupt 50 on Christmas Eve and even Miami isn’t anticipated to get out of the 50s.
Within the Northeast, utility firms introduced in additional staff from different states however had been hampered by slick roads and harmful situations.
“This was a heavy, moist snow in order that had impacts on each journey and the infrastructure up throughout that space,” mentioned Frank Pereira, a meteorologist with the Nationwide Climate Service.
Vermont officers warned Saturday that some prospects might not have their energy restored for as much as two to a few days. The state was discovering places for potential warming facilities within the hardest-hit areas in case they had been wanted, state officers mentioned.
Police throughout New England responded to a whole lot of crashes or automobiles sliding off the street in the course of the weekend storm. Maine State Police mentioned Saturday night time that they’d responded to greater than 180 crashes since Friday night. There had solely been minor accidents, state police mentioned.