CNN
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A brutal arctic blast is bringing record-low temperatures and life-threatening wind chills across a large swath of the United States as snow and freezing rain spread from the South into the Northeast. Here’s the latest:
• Record-breaking cold temperatures: Nearly 80% of the US will see below-freezing temperatures over the next week. Numerous daily cold records have already been set – including across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas – and more could be broken Tuesday across the central and southern US. Temperatures in Memphis, Dallas and Nashville are expected to stay below freezing for at least 72 consecutive hours.
• Frostbite can happen in minutes: More than 120 million people are under wind chill alerts from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. Much of the Rockies, Great Plains and Midwest will see life-threatening sub-zero wind chills into Tuesday, with wind chills below -30 degrees over the Central Plains and Middle Mississippi Valley. “These wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in a few minutes and hypothermia shortly thereafter,” the National Weather Service warned.
• At least five deaths across several states: Deaths have been reported across Arkansas, Oregon, Mississippi and Tennessee since January 12 as back-to-back winter storms have pummeled the US with dangerous wind, ice and snow. One person was killed and another was injured in Arkansas after their pickup truck careened off a snowy White County highway and hit a tree, according to state police.
• Icy roads make travel dangerous: As snow hits New York and New England and shifts farther north Tuesday, the weather service warned travelers to plan for slippery roads and hazardous travel conditions that could become very difficult. The South already saw icy road conditions Monday, with the Tennessee Department of Transportation responding to hundreds of incidents on roadways and warning “conditions will remain hazardous for at least the next 24 hours.”
• Schools are closed: Districts in more than half a dozen states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia announced closures amid the frigid temperatures.
Snow and freezing rain sweep into Northeast
As dangerously cold temperatures continue across much of the US – with over 80 million people under winter weather alerts across more than 1,600 miles from Texas-Louisiana border to the Maine-Canada border – snow and freezing rain over the South will spread into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast through Tuesday.
Downwind of the Great Lakes, heavy lake effect snowfall is expected to stir up some significant travel headaches. Lake Effect snow happens when cold air moves across the open, unfrozen waters of the Great Lakes, creating narrow bands that produce 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour or more.
Buffalo, New York, is under a winter storm watch from through Thursday evening, with heavy lake effect snowfall of 9-18 inches and gusts to 40 mph possible. Watertown, also under a winter storm watch through early Friday, could see heavy lake effect snowfall of 2-3 feet possible.
“Travel could be very difficult to impossible. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility,” the National Weather Service office in Buffalo warned. “The hazardous conditions could impact the Wednesday morning and evening commute.”
This region had just received over 3 feet of snowfall from a previous round of very heavy lake effect snowfall.
New York City is expected to receive 2-4 inches of snow through Tuesday – after not getting an inch of snow fall in a single day in more than 700 days, according to the National Weather Service.
Washington, D.C., was forecast to receive at least 4-6 inches of snow Tuesday. The city received more than an inch of snow Monday, ending the city’s streak without at least an inch of snow in 673 days.
Philadelphia also broke its snow drought with 1.5 inches falling as of early Tuesday after 715 days of not seeing an inch of snowfall.
As the Northeast deals with heavy snow, another storm will move onshore over the Pacific Northwest from Tuesday into Wednesday as the region continues recovering from a damaging storm that hit late last week.
An ice storm warning is in place for over 3 million people across the region, including Portland. The system will also bring rain over parts of the Pacific Northwest into California, with snow over higher elevations.
Sub-zero wind chills and the threat of frostbite
Wind chill temperatures – how cold people feel when outside based on heat loss from exposed skin – are expected at hazardous lows that cause frostbite and hypothermia.
Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 40 below zero are expected in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa, and as low as 25 degrees below zero in Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle through Tuesday. “The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes,” the weather service warned.
The most susceptible parts to frostbite are fingers, toes, ear lobes and the tip of the nose, the weather service says. Symptoms include a loss of feeling in the extremity and a white or pale appearance.
“Avoid outdoor activities if possible. If you must be outside, wear appropriate clothing, dress in layers, and cover exposed skin. Keep pets indoors,” the National Weather Service said. “Have a cold survival kit if you must travel.”
While temperatures are expected to moderate midweek, a new surge of colder air will arrive over the northern Plains and Midwest and the Deep South by the end of the week, according to the weather service.
