Polar vortex ushers in life-threatening cold for over 90 million as far south as Florida, Texas
National Weather Service offices across the nation have issued Cold Weather Advisories and Extreme Cold Warnings for more than 93 million Americans, extending from the U.S.-Canada border to the Florida Panhandle and Deep South Texas.
Polar vortex brings life-threatening cold to millions, including as far south as Texas
Widespread, record-breaking cold temperatures are expected from now through Friday. 30+ million people expected to see dangerously low temperatures. Numerous daily records are likely to be broken across the Plains, with some locations experiencing their coldest temperatures on record for so late in the season.
The polar vortex has returned to the U.S., and frostbite-inducing temperatures are blasting millions of Americans.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, arctic air is descending and spreading across the Lower 48 states, and temperatures have plummeted to 30-40 degrees below average for this time of year.
The frigid pattern appears locked in for the foreseeable future, with a deep freeze potentially lasting through the end of the month, the FOX Forecast Center said.
National Weather Service offices across the nation have issued Cold Weather Advisories and Extreme Cold Warnings for more than 93 million Americans, extending from the U.S.-Canada border to the Florida Panhandle and Deep South Texas.
Cold weather alerts are posted across the central and eastern U.S.
(FOX Forecast Center / FOX Weather)
Wicked wind chills for the northern tier
The north-central U.S. is suffering from the most extreme cold, with wind chills as low as -60 degrees for parts of the Dakotas, Montana and Minnesota.
Bismarck, North Dakota, recorded a low temperature of -39 degrees on Tuesday, the coldest day there since Jan. 15, 2009.
Rochester, Minnesota, dipped to -19 degrees Tuesday morning, tying a record low for Feb. 18.
More than 204 million Americans are experiencing temperatures below freezing.
DELTA FLIGHT FROM MINNESOTA CRASH LANDS UPSIDE DOWN IN TORONTO AMID 40-MPH WINDS
(FOX Weather)
Subzero temperatures reach Deep South
Extreme Cold Warnings are covering large parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
The FOX Forecast Center warns parts of Texas could experience cold rivaling the infamous Texas freeze of 2021.
It felt like -1 degrees in Dallas and -26 degrees in Dodge City, Kansas, on Wednesday morning.
SNOW-COVERED ROADS LEAD TO TREACHEROUS TRAVEL AS WINTER STORM BARRELS ACROSS US TOWARD EAST COAST
Temperatures and wind chills.(FOX Weather)
These areas are forecast to experience life-threatening wind chills through Wednesday morning, with feels-like temperatures approaching 60 degrees below zero across the north-central U.S.
Under these conditions, frostbite can occur within minutes on exposed skin.
WHAT DOES FROSTBITE DO TO YOUR BODY? HERE ARE THE GORY DETAILS
Record lows are possible across the Plains and even in places across the South, like Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, by Thursday, with dozens of cities facing potentially record-breaking morning low temperatures.
The situation is more concerning as the arctic air pushes into the South, enveloping areas not accustomed to extreme cold.
Arctic temperatures are not expected to lift until Saturday.
(FOX Weather)