Arctic Blast Ahead; Montana Sees 40-Degree Temperature Drop in Two Hours

By: By Chris Dolce

Published: November 20,2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new blast of Arctic air that will engulf the central and eastern states through the weekend made an impressive initial appearance in Montana on Tuesday.
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Tuesday's Temperatures

Thermometers in the northern Montana city of Great Falls recorded an incredible temperature drop of nearly 40 degrees in just two hours.
At 3:53 p.m., the temperature was 52 degrees, about 11 degrees above the average high for the day.
During the next hour, the Arctic cold front pushed through and dropped the temperature to 19 degrees by 4:53 p.m. At 5:53 p.m., it was a frigid 13 degrees, completing the near 40-degree drop in two hours.
Residents of the city woke up to a low of 8 degrees Wednesday morning. While very cold, it was well short of the record low of -19 set in 1900.
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Arctic Air Spreads South and East

Sunday's Highs

As mentioned earlier, this arctic air that made an initial appearance in Montana on Tuesday is set to spread south and east the next few days.
Thursday, the Front Range of the Rockies and the northern Plains will see well below-average temperatures.
By Saturday and Sunday, the colder-than-average temperatures will engulf the central and eastern states from Chicago and New York to Atlanta and Dallas.
(HIGHS: Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun)

MORE: Most Extreme Temperature Ranges By State

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#21: New York

The state record high was set in July 1926, and the state record low was set in February 1979.