A severe Arctic blast is poised to sweep through the central United States, accompanied by a potent storm that is expected to usher in the coldest air of the season as far south as Texas. Iowa, hosting the first presidential primary for the 2024 election on Monday (Jan 8), anticipates holding the coldest caucus in state history. The frigid temperatures are also poised to test Texas’ power grid’s vulnerability to extreme temperatures during this winter season.
Temperature projections indicate potential lows of minus 20 to 30 degrees in the northern Plains on both Friday (Jan 12) and Saturday (Jan 13). Gusty winds are expected to exacerbate the cold, resulting in wind chills that could plummet to 50 degrees below zero.
More than 15 million people in the central United States are under wind chill alerts, where frostbite can occur on exposed skin within just 10 minutes. The cold wave is set to extend south and east, eventually enveloping Texas and other parts of the South.
A powerful storm originating in the Southwest and the Rocky Mountains is moving eastward, likely bringing blizzard conditions and severe frigid weather to many regions in the coming days. The FOX Forecast Centre predicts heavy snow covering areas from Missouri to Michigan, with severe thunderstorms lashing Texas, the Carolinas, and the mid-Atlantic.
While the storm system shares similarities with the previous two that spared major Northeastern cities from significant snowfall due to elevated coastal temperatures, the situation is expected to be different for the Great Lakes region once the wind and snow intensify.
Already, the storm system has triggered blizzard conditions in some Pacific Northwest mountains and caused a fatal avalanche in California. It is projected to impact the Plains late on Thursday (Jan 11) and continue affecting the eastern half of the country before moving towards Canada and off the Eastern Seaboard on Saturday.
Snowfall is anticipated to commence on Thursday (Jan 11) and accumulate by Friday (Jan 12) in major cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Indianapolis.
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