WeatherFanatics: Coldest Air in Five Years to Blast Northeast Friday

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Coldest Air in Five Years to Blast Northeast Friday

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

January 2,2014; 7:38PM,EST

As bitterly cold air continues its grip on the Upper Midwest, another surge of frigid air will pay a visit to parts of the Northeast following a blizzard and could deliver the coldest weather in several years.
In the Midwest, the bitterly cold air continues to bring frostbite dangers to those not properly dressed and life-threatening conditions for the homeless or those suffering without heat.
The same brutally cold conditions will reach into much of the Northeast later this week, into an area that has had only moderate cold thus far.

The persistent cold can drain car batteries and damage poorly maintained vehicles. Tire pressure can drop significantly in cold weather of this magnitude. Many ice-melting compounds are much less effective at the temperatures expected. Pipes exposed to cold drafts from the outside can freeze. Do not allow kids and animals to remain outdoors for long periods of time, due to the risk of frostbite. Homeless people will need to be given shelter.
Areas from the Dakotas to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan will remain in the deep freeze through the first couple of days of 2014.
International Falls, Minn., rang in the New Year at 27 degrees below zero Fahrenheit and dropped to 42 degrees below zero early Thursday morning.
Like International Falls, areas along the Canada border will remain below zero through Thursday. Nighttime lows in the region will plunge to 30 degrees below zero in some places.

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Only right around the Great Lakes will open waters moderate the frigid air slightly, by preventing constant subzero temperatures.
However, farther east, another large bubble of frigid air is poised to push southward out of eastern Canada and into parts of the mid-Atlantic and New England. Temperatures Thursday morning ranged from 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit to 40 degrees below zero just north of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec and Ontario.
Once the storm moves away in the Northeast, the gates of the Arctic will be opened and frigid air will be able to pour southward. The air will be able to avoid the waters of lakes Ontario and Erie and push right into much of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and eastern Virginia, as well as New England.
According to Weather Expert Bernie Rayno, "This is likely to be the coldest weather for much of the Northeast since January 2009."

Lows Friday night in the cities of Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and Wilmington, Del., will drop into the single digits Friday night.
Lows in Friday night Scranton, Pa.; Hartford, Conn.; Albany, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; Portland, Maine; and Boston will be below zero.
Conditions will be dry and cold for the NFL playoff game between the Saints and the Eagles at Philadelphia Saturday evening. Temperatures will be in the middle 20s.
At Indianapolis, Saturday will be the mild day of the week. Outside of the dome, temperatures will peak in the mid-30s under some sunshine with a stiff breeze.
Another colder blast of air will sweep across the Midwest Sunday and will reach the East Monday into Tuesday with even colder conditions when compared to last this week.

The weather will turn windy and colder during the NFL playoff game at Cincinnati Sunday afternoon between the Bengals and the Chargers. Temperatures will plunge through the 30s and some snow is in the offing.
The coldest game, by no surprise, will be the battle between the Packers and 49ers at Green Bay, Wis. The high temperature will be in the single digits and RealFeel® temperatures are forecast to be between 10 and 20 below zero.

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