Severe cold weather expected to hit much of the U.S. just before Christmas
Freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall are expected to hit much of the United States in the week leading up to Christmas, leading to dangerous conditions that could disrupt travel for millions of people.
“Temperatures are well below normal and could be record lows heading into the Christmas holidays,” said Zach Taylor, a meteorologist with the US National Weather Service.
Polar air arrives early Storm system is gradually weakening in northeastern US After burying part of the area under 2 feet (61 cm) of snow. His more than 80,000 customers in New England were still without power on Sunday morning, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks power outages across the country.
The arrival of the Arctic front will bring “extreme and prolonged freezing conditions to southern Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana,” the National Weather Service said. special weather statement Sunday.
Temperatures will drop to 13 degrees Celsius (minus 10.6 degrees Celsius) in Jackson, Mississippi, by Thursday night. The National Weather Service predicts about 5 degrees (minus 15 degrees Celsius) in Nashville, Tennessee.
In most of the United States, winter weather will get worse before it gets better.
The latest forecast from the Federal Weather Prediction Center in College Park calls for “the coldest air of the season” next week as a strong arctic front marches across the eastern two-thirds of the country in the days leading up to Christmas. may become. , Maryland.
“Frigid temperatures will spread extensively from the Northern Rockies/Northern Plains to the Midwest through midweek, then reach the Gulf Coast and much of the eastern United States Friday through the weekend,” the center warned.
In Illinois, the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Cook, Dupage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, LaSalle, Kankakee, Grundy, and DeKalb counties from 6 p.m. Thursday through 6 a.m. Saturday. has been issued. High temperatures near 30 degrees are expected in Chicago on Tuesday and Wednesday, while extreme winter weather is expected on Thursday and Friday.
Freezing temperatures, high winds and snow all forecast, CBS Chicago reportLow temperatures are likely to be in the single digits on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to CBS Chicago, with wind chill well below zero. can cause it.
Single-digit temperatures and sub-zero wind chills are also expected in the twin cities. CBS MinnesotaCBS Minnesota reports that highs will hit just 7 degrees on Tuesday, with four to eight inches of snow likely on Wednesday. The snow is expected to stop falling by Thursday, but gusts of wind up to 50 miles per hour can lift snow from the ground and cause whiteout conditions, reports CBS Minnesota. Friday could drop to minus 45 degrees, with the same wind chill.
Subzero temperatures are expected to be as far south as Texas. Temperatures can drop rapidly in North Texas on Thursday, with early-day highs hovering in the high 30s and low 40s, but dropping dramatically as winds pick up. , CBS DFW reportTemperatures will be in the low teens to single digits on Friday, with wind chills in the sub-zero range.
The weather bureau forecasts that Atlanta will have a low of about 13 degrees Celsius (-10.6 degrees Celsius) on Friday and a high of about 29 degrees Celsius (-1.7 degrees Celsius) on Saturday, still below freezing.
It’s a heartbreaking reality that Atlanta homeless advocate George Chidi knows firsthand.
He went to see a woman with severe mental health problems in downtown Atlanta earlier this year and discovered she had died just hours earlier from suspected hypothermia. The body was found outside the 24-hour Greyhound Bus Station in the heart of downtown Atlanta.
“She died within 100 feet of three heated buildings,” Chidi said.
He said that people who die in freezing weather without a home are battling alcohol, drugs, severe mental illness, or they don’t trust others and live in the streets instead of taking refuge with others. He said that he often died because he found himself in
Homeless people in southern states are also vulnerable to weather patterns that keep them comfortable one week and then suddenly freeze the next.
“The main factor is not the temperature itself,” Chidi said. “It’s how fast the temperature drops.”
There will be no White Christmas in Florida, but forecasters expect unusually cold temperatures across the state over the weekend.
Northern Florida cities such as Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Pensacola are expected to see lows of 20 degrees Celsius (minus 3 degrees Celsius) and highs of around 40 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Celsius) on Christmas Eve.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/weather-us-freezing-temperatures-snow-christmas/ Severe cold weather expected to hit much of the U.S. just before Christmas