‘Coldest air of the season’ to hit eastern U.S., making holiday travel potential nightmare
An Arctic air mass will descend upon the U.S. this week with plenty of precipitation and dangerously low temperatures, making for potentially nightmarish holiday travel conditions, forecasters say.
As last week’s mega storm wound down before the first day of Chanukah, the possibility of a white Christmas for the eastern half of the country loomed just in time for the winter solstice, which happens Wednesday.
New York City will likely miss the snow but get plenty of rain and cold temperatures.
“A frigid Arctic air mass will plunge southward throughout this week, bringing dangerously cold temps & wind chills across the Central & Eastern U.S.,” the National Weather Service said on Twitter. “As you finish your holiday shopping, take action to protect yourself from the cold.”
The air mass will envelop the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. in dangerously frigid temperatures — potentially “the coldest air of the season,” with temperatures 10 to 35 degrees lower than normal — and combine with a powerful storm by the end of the week, the NWS said.
The storm is expected to hit two different parts of the country with similar effects, Accuweather meteorologist Ryan Adamson told the Daily News. Some snow will push down through Montana, Wyoming and the Plains on Wednesday, he said, “but the real storm gets going on Thursday.”
That’s when it hits Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma and Missouri, swinging up to Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and other parts of Michigan with a potential blizzard Friday, Adamson said. The East Coast, meanwhile, is expected to see rain in the Carolinas, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey. That precipitation could start as snow or ice in central Pennsylvania and New York and change to rain.
For the I-95 corridor of Washington D.C., New York City and Boston, “it looks like a rain event,” Adamson said. However, winds will get much stronger, and temperatures will drop, rapidly freezing any residual water.
Temperatures will plummet by Thursday night, likely down to 13 degrees in Jackson, Miss. and 5 degrees in Nashville, Tenn., according to NWS predictions. The Northern High Plains will see temperatures 20 to 35 degrees below average, the NWS said. Even Florida was expected to drop into the low 20s on Christmas Eve, with a high of just 40 degrees.
Temperatures will likely remain below freezing pretty far south through Christmas Day, Adamson said.
For anyone who can’t move travel up to Monday or Tuesday, Adamson urged caution. He predicted weather-related flight delays and cancellations, and advised drivers to watch for ice and “keep both hands on the steering wheel.”
With News Wire Services
