From 50 degrees to below zero: Arctic front sending instant bone-chilling blast of frigid air
As the polar air spills south out of Canada and through America's heartland, temperatures are taking radical tumbles where conditions whiplash from near, or even comfortably above freezing -- to flirting with negative temperatures just minutes later.
Wind chills are well below zero in some areas as bitter cold begins to grip U.S.
Widespread negative temperatures have been observed. This, combined with sustained winds of 20 - 30 mph and higher wind gusts of up to 60 mph, have and will continue to lead to wind chills as low as 40 below across a large swath of the Intermountain West and northern/central Plains, with more localized areas of 50 to 70 below possible through the end of the week.
DENVER -- A powerful arctic front wreaking havoc along its journey across much of the nation certainly does not announce its arrival in any subtle fashion, sending temperatures plummeting at record speeds across the Midwest.
As the polar air spills south out of Canada and through America's heartland, temperatures are taking radical tumbles where conditions whiplash from near, or even comfortably above freezing -- to flirting with negative temperatures just minutes later.
Dillon, Montana, saw the temperature drop from 27 degrees at 4:22 a.m. Wednesday…. to just 1 degree at 4:25 a.m., just three minutes later! After another two hours, the temperature dropped to negative 12.
DANGEROUS ARCTIC BLAST TIGHTENS GRIP ON US AS 150 MILLION TO FEEL SUBZERO TEMPERATURES
A similar fate awaited Casper, Wyoming, where the temperature dropped from 27 to 8 in eight minutes and to minus 6 an hour later.
Cheyenne, Wyoming, took an even larger tumble, dropping from 43 degrees to 3 degrees in 30 minutes -- their largest half-hour drop on record. Two hours later, it was minus 12 and still cooling but already a 55-degree drop between lunchtime and mid-afternoon snack.
An Arctic front kicks up dust as it rolls into Denver on Dec. 21, 2022.
(Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment / FOX Weather)
Later Wednesday afternoon, it was Denver's turn, with a drop from 42 to 18 in 7 minutes, cooling to just 5 degrees an hour later with a wind chill of -23. The 37-degree temperature drop in an hour also appears to have set a record.
HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER ON TV
By late evening the temperature in Denver dipped to minus 1, a stunning 51-degree temperature drop from the lunchtime temperature of 50 degrees. By Thursday morning it was minus 14.
Similar stories to be told for millions
(FOX Weather)
Sudden and radical temperature drops are a fate that awaits millions more as the front pushes south and east over the next few days. Chicago was bracing for a sudden drop Thursday evening from near freezing to nearly 10 degrees below zero. Milwaukee is heading for -4 shortly after "basking" in 31-degree weather hours before.
Indianapolis will dip from 41 to minus 5 Thursday evening, while Pittsburgh will go from a relatively balmy 37 degrees to 1 degree after the front marches through early Friday morning.
7 WAYS TO PREVENT FROZEN WATER PIPES IN BITTERLY COLD TEMPERATURES
On the front's southern flank, St. Louis was expected to drop from 36 to minus 3 Thursday, while Oklahoma City will plunge from 42 to 4 and Dallas will go from 48 to 13.
Even the Southeast won't be spared late Thursday night into Friday morning with a drop of 58 to 12 in Atlanta, and Nashville dips from a winterly-comfortable 48 degrees to a frozen 3 degrees.
Florida? The arctic air is coming for you too this weekend, with highs in Orlando in the low 60s Friday and about to switch to morning lows near freezing Saturday and Sunday.
Flash Freeze possible in the East
While the front brings a punch of snow to the Great Lakes as the storm develops, it'll remain rain along the I-95 corridor as precipitation falls.
However, once the front sweeps through there late Friday, temperatures will quickly plummet from the 40s and 50s to the teens around Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and even the Washington DC area.
With a sudden drop below freezing, any lingering water on roadways may quickly freeze, catching Friday evening commuters or holiday travelers off guard.
For those tired of winter, there is sunlight at the end of the tunnel. The entire nation will get a break from the winter chill late next week and as we ring in 2023 with the entire Lower 48 expecting above-average temperatures.