Polar vortex to blast 30 states with life-threatening cold: 'Be prepared'
The FOX Forecast Center said temperatures will plummet as much as 45 degrees below average in spots, leading to below-zero temperatures across at least 20 states, from the Plains to the Great Lakes and interior Northeast.
Polar vortex to bring dangerous cold to more than 30 states
A major Arctic outbreak is building, bringing below-freezing temperatures to more than 100 million Americans next week.
A major cold blast is in store for more than 30 states as a widespread arctic air outbreak will send nearly every American east of the Rockies into a deep freeze.
This will be due to a polar vortex, an area of strong winds that encircle the Arctic and typically keeps the coldest air locked near the Pole, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
This weekend and into next week, a lobe of the polar vortex will descend into the U.S. and bring with it brutally cold temperatures.
(FOX Weather)
Minneapolis had a high temperature of 34 degrees on Thursday, but on Sunday, the forecast high temperature is a frigid 3 degrees below zero.
"Perfect time to hop on a plane and go somewhere south," FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin said. "Like, really, really far south."
The potentially life-threatening cold is due to the disrupted polar vortex. The FOX Forecast Center said a lobe of the polar vortex will dip to the south and move into the U.S. this weekend and into next week.
"These are the types of weather systems that even bring cold air to Florida," Merwin said. "You know, there’s only maybe one or two times a year where we get a chunk of arctic air that really invades the country and gets all the way down to the Gulf Coast. This is one of those. So, if you’re a snowbird, you like to escape down to the South – there’s no escaping this. Everyone will feel it."
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(FOX Weather)
More than 100 million Americans will experience below-average temperatures by Monday.
The FOX Forecast Center said temperatures will plummet as much as 45 degrees below average in spots, leading to below-zero temperatures across at least 20 states, from the Plains to the Great Lakes and interior Northeast.
All the Lower 48 states and more than 80% of the population will see temperatures drop below freezing. The deep chill will be felt as far as the Deep South, with only South Florida escaping the icy grip of the arctic blast.
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(FOX Weather)
The FOX Forecast Center said that while some moderation in temperatures may occur during the middle of next week, the overall pattern is expected to remain favorable for more brutally cold air outbreaks in the Lower 48 states close to the end of January.
Monthly temperatures are already running 5-10 degrees below average, and the FOX Forecast Center said this will all but ensure many locations in the eastern U.S. will see their coldest January in years.
Frigid temperatures could be life-threatening
(FOX Weather)
Cities that aren’t really accustomed to the cold, like Atlanta, will be feeling the chill.
On Monday morning, Atlanta could see temperatures drop into the teens, and that has people on alert for the incoming onslaught of brutally cold temperatures.
"That is cold enough that you do need to prepare," Merwin said.
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(FOX Weather)
That is especially true for those who live in parts of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, who are still in recovery mode after Hurricane Helene devastated the region and left countless people without homes.
"Looking at the wind chill, that adds a whole other layer to this," Merwin said. "I mean, it will feel like negative 50 degrees in some spots across America come Monday morning."
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Preparations for the cold weather are already underway in New York City. According to New York City Emergency Management, a Cold Weather Alert has been issued and the New York City Department of Public Health declared a Cold Blue.
"Outreach teams will canvass all five boroughs to connect our most vulnerable New Yorkers to shelters," NYCEM said on X. "No one who is homeless and seeking shelter in New York City during a Code Blue will be denied."