If you thought it was cold in the US this
week well, next week is going to be even colder as the polar vortex returns to
North America. Reuter’s reports, forecasters are sending chills down some
spines with a prediction that much of the northern half of the United States
could see frigid weather next week similar to life-threatening lows the polar
vortex brought to parts of the country in 2014.
Anticipation of a freezing blast began to
build this week when weather maps and forecast models showed similarities
between next week's system and one that developed in January 2014.
The southward shift in the polar vortex in
2014 brought the Midwest some of its coldest weather in two decades. Icy
conditions snarled travel and thousands of flights were canceled or delayed.
Chart AccuWeather
Frigid temperatures combined with gusting
winds to create life-threatening wind chills as low as 60 degrees Fahrenheit
below zero (minus 51 Celsius) that killed at least nine people.
The coldest weather next week is expected
in the Midwest and Northeastern starting around Tuesday, according to forecasts
that show temperatures in the single digits in some cities.
"The air mass on the way for the
middle of December is likely to be substantially colder when compared to that
of this past week and this weekend," AccuWeather meteorologist Paul
Pastelok wrote on Thursday.
Temperatures from the Northern and Central
plains to wide swathes of the Midwest are likely to drop by between 5 and 20
degrees Fahrenheit compared to temperatures this week, according to
AccuWeather.
It is unclear how far south the cold air
will be felt, according to Pastelok.
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