Polar vortex to bring freezing weather to US

Freezing weather is expected to hit the eastern United States in the coming days as the polar vortex moves.

Temperatures are expected to remain below average for the southeast and east coast through the first half of January. The Gulf of Mexico and Florida may also experience sub-freezing temperatures.

Meteorologists are predicting heavy snow for the Great Lakes region and into the Appalachians, as well as bitterly cold chills.

The polar vortex is an area of ​​cold air that circulates around the Arctic. That area may shift and expand, bringing lower temperatures further south than normal.

Modeling by the independent forecaster Atmospheric and Environmental Research shows the polar vortex expanding over the United States in the first two weeks of the new year.

The forecaster says this will bring below normal temperatures into the eastern US in the second week of January.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warns that “the coldest air of the season to date and dangerous chills are likely over many areas of the Southeast”.

The NWS predicts low temperatures could reach -8C (18F) in parts of Texas and -4C in Georgia Tuesday night.

Temperatures will be far colder in the north, with northern Minnesota expected to drop to -25C at the same time.

Beyond that, the exact temperatures are hard to predict — but the NWS expects the coldest weather to occur by the end of the second week of January.

Heavy snow is expected to extend from the Great Lakes region into the central and eastern parts of the United States around then, but the snow could reach as far south as Texas.

The NWS says that while significant accumulations of snow are not expected for the Southeast, “these regions are often ill-equipped to handle snowy conditions, resulting in potentially larger impacts”.

It predicts an average of close to two inches of snowfall for the period.

In 2022, a strong arctic winter storm causing numerous deaths and widespread disruption across the United Statesleaving 1.5 million properties without power. The storm also temporarily halted oil production at a dozen Gulf Coast facilities.

While the northern parts of the US are used to cold winters with lots of snow, winds from the Canadian Arctic can bring dangerous chills of -29C to -34C. This can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.