By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist
February 14,2015; 10:54PM,EST
Frigid conditions will continue to build across the Midwest and East in waves into next week and will eventually press into much of the South.
The first wave of arctic air settled across the Northeast, while a new blast of arctic air gathered momentum over the Canadian Prairies on Friday.
This wave of frigid air will race across the Midwest on Saturday with eyes for the Northeast. AccuWeather.com RealFeel® Temperatures are forecast to plunge well below zero.
According to AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Brian Lada, "The combination of frigid air will not only be painful to endure for short periods of time outdoors but can bring life-threatening conditions for those not properly dressed or where electricity is knocked out due to the blizzard in New England."
Temperatures across the Midwest on Saturday will fail to reach the single digits from Fargo, North Dakota, to Minneapolis and Marquette, Michigan. High temperatures may fail to get above zero across northern Minnesota and North Dakota. The air will remain frigid into Sunday.
RELATED:
Watch the Latest Edition of AccuWeather LIVE
AccuWeather.com MinuteCast ® for your precise location
US Spring Outlook: Milder Air to Fuel Uptick in Severe Storms From Past Three Years
For any individual not properly dressed during these cold air outbreaks, they run an increased risk for frostbite and hypothermia.
According to AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, "The waves of arctic air moving in could bring disruptions to some of the trains in the northern cities. The prolonged cold penetrating deep into the ground could also cause water main breaks from the Midwest to the Northeast."
A slight break in the cold for some areas of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast will occur on Saturday ahead of a storm system that will bring blizzard conditions to New England during the weekend.
The second wave of arctic air will build into the East in the wake of this storm system on Saturday night and Sunday.
Record low temperatures may fall on multiple dates in the Northeast and South.
In the South, despite bright sunshine, locations from northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia will have high temperatures only in the 30s during the second half of the weekend and into early next week.
"The air will get cold enough in northern Florida to bring the risk of damage to unprotected sensitive fruits and vegetables during a couple of nights through Sunday night," Sosnowski said.
"Be sure to wear extra layers when going outside and bring your animals indoors to keep them protected from the arctic air," Lada said.
Yet another wave of arctic air will build across the Midwest into early next week and will move across the East. The cold wave next week will follow behind a storm with snow and ice in the South hitting on Monday into Tuesday. The same storm could swing up and hit part of the Northeast at midweek.
According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Ben Noll, "By the middle of next week, the cold will dive into areas from Texas to the Carolinas that have yet to experience the winter chill this season."
Because of the more southerly momentum with the arctic air next week, freezing temperatures could dip to parts of the Gulf coast and central Florida.
The momentum of the arctic air through this weekend is directed southeastward with the Northeast states in the direct path. Next week's blast will be focused southward across the Mississippi Valley and lower Plains.
Stay tuned to AccuWeather.com for updates on the cold and next week's potential storm.
Click here to watch the latest edition of AccuWeather LIVE.- John Hummer · Top Commenter · Wakefield HighACCUWEATHER! Where's your map for the 'Last half of Feb' as your feature title suggests!
Matt Colleran · Top Commenter · Vanderbilt UniversitySo, winter has finally made it to Tennessee. It didn't even make it to 40 today.
Aaron Ginther · Top Commenter · Lynchburg, VirginiaWe had a high of 29 here in central VA yesterday and over the next 7 days we're not forecast to go above freezing. Normal mid February highs? mid and upper 40's. We're under a wind chill advisory for wind chill values as low as -10 tonight.
Even last year wasn't THIS cold for so long.
John Hummer · Top Commenter · Wakefield HighAccuweather: I would like to know why, when a wind chill advisory, warning, etc. is issued, it is reflective for 'sustained' wind speeds ONLY? No accounting is made for wind gusts. When the winds gust, whatever their speed, those gusts can be sustained for up to n longer than a full minute at a time........When you're out in it, you will feel the 'wind chill' at those gusting wind speeds, and they will certainly have more a chilling effect than those 'lesser' sustained wind speeds the advisories, warning, are made for......That there is no accounting for these higher winds gusts is truly an obscurity. When will this oversight ever be addressed?
AccuWeather.comHi John. Great question. Technically, the wind chill varies second by second, generally when people show the wind chill, they show an average, assuming the wind will gust and lull. Here at AccuWeather, we created the RealFeel index which takes wind gusts into account, but still (because of the variance over time) gives you an average reading.
Ryck Jordan · Seaside Park, New JerseyI love how central Nj has a storm warning. I live in a beach town but we do not get 15-20 ft waves or freezing spray. and we do not have a harbour. PLEASE GET A CLUE. It is not going to be -26 here either and we are not 20 miles out to see like you marine watches and warnings seem to imagine we are.- Cory Morrison · Follow · Top Commenter · Sheridan College, OakvilleFebruary 2015 is probably the only month I have ever lived through where not a single day has been above average for temperature in the GTA. This cold's persistency is more unbelievable than March 2012's warmth persistency.
Joshua Wade · FollowSurges of arctic air in February 2015? May the worst yet to come as a more intense surge of arctic air that will likely occur in April 2015 as well into early May.
Brian Moore · Follow · Top Commenter · Toronto, OntarioI thought when we were almost through January that ok it hasn't been that bad and Feburary is usually warmer than Jan. Man I was wrong sooo wrong!
Jonathan Bailey · Top Commenter · Owner at Sportin Kings
Ruth Seiler · Top Commenter · New Mexico State UniversityNo one is calling it a Polar Vortex this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment