According to the US National Weather Service forecast, a large winter storm is set to hit the United States starting on Saturday, January 4th, bringing heavy snow, freezing rain, and frigid temperatures. Over the next few days, the storm will move from the central region towards the eastern part of the country.
It is expected that this storm will impact a vast majority of the United States, affecting hundreds of millions of people.
Meteorologists predict that a large cyclonic system made its landfall on the US West Coast on Friday afternoon, bringing rain to the Pacific Northwest region, with the Cascade Mountain Range expected to see snowfall.
This system is expected to develop into a significant winter storm from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic region over the weekend into early next week.
By Saturday evening, areas between central Kansas and Indiana could see significant snowfall, especially along and north of Interstate 70, with accumulations of up to 8 inches (20.3 cm).
Meteorologists suggest that the areas usually experiencing the highest snowfall might see the largest snowfall in at least a decade.
Blizzard conditions are expected to hit the Ohio River Valley, causing travel disruptions. The storm will reach the mid-Atlantic states from Sunday to Monday.
Localized areas may experience blizzard conditions, especially in Kansas and adjacent areas of the central plains where gusts could exceed 35 miles per hour (56 km/h).
From eastern Kansas to the Ozarks Highlands, there could be a mix of rain and snow.
Starting on Saturday, areas from eastern Kansas to Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia are likely to experience hazardous sleet, freezing rain, particularly affecting power lines.
The freezing rain may pose travel risks. Areas with ice accumulations above a quarter of an inch may experience power outages.
Private meteorologist Ryan Maue stated, “This will be a bad situation, a potential disaster.”
Cold air from the Arctic will reach as far south as southern Florida.
As per the weather forecast, starting from Monday, January 6th, two-thirds of the southeastern United State’s population will face the impact of cold air and frigid temperatures.
Due to a polar vortex descending from the Arctic highlands, temperatures could drop below normal by 12 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 14 degrees Celsius).
AccuWeather’s Director of Operations, Dan DePodwin, stated on Friday, “This could result in the coldest month for the United States since 2011,” with temperatures potentially “far below historical averages” persisting for as long as a week or longer.
Meteorologist Danny Barandiaran from the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center mentioned that the most significant cooling areas could centralize around the Ohio River Valley, but the cold air will extend southward to the Gulf of Mexico coastline.
He added that even Florida could experience the chill.
Jennifer Francis, a scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, pointed out that there will be “bitterly cold winds,” emphasizing that “global warming does not mean these cold spells disappear.”
Judah Cohen, Director of Seasonal Forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research, stated that this extreme cold weather could be a result of rapid Arctic warming, underscoring how climate change can lead to extreme weather.
The polar vortex, a spinning gyre of super-cold air, typically stays over the Arctic, but occasionally intrudes into the US, Europe, or Asia, causing severe cold weather.
Research conducted by Cohen and colleagues indicates that the expansion or movement of the polar vortex is increasing.
In a study published last month, they stated that one contributing factor to these cold outbreaks is the rapid warming of the Arctic, which is warming four times faster than other regions globally.
(Adapted from the Associated Press)