In the aftermath of a major winter storm that immobilized much of the central and eastern United States with heavy snow, sleet and ice, forecasters are now warning of a new, dangerous threat: an intense surge of Arctic air pouring southward across the region that they said could further delay recovery and cleanup efforts.
Extreme-cold warnings were in effect from Texas and the Deep South northward through the Midwest and Ohio Valley and into parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through Wednesday. Forecasters warned that, despite some “modest warming” throughout the week, temperatures well below normal could persist far longer.
“Especially in portions of the Southeast, the Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast too, into at least the first week of February,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center. “This is just going to prolong the travel and infrastructure impacts that we’ve been seeing, especially across portions of Louisiana into Mississippi and Tennessee that are without power right now.”
Forecasters said temperatures below zero were expected “nearly every morning” this week, from the Northern Plains through the Ohio Valley and into the Northeast. Ms. Santorelli said temperatures could plunge as low as 30 degrees below zero in some areas, particularly across northern Minnesota.
Farther south, from the Central Plains into the Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic, overnight lows are expected to fall into the single digits, with freezing temperatures reaching as far south as the Gulf Coast each night through the end of the week.
Daytime highs are also forecast to struggle, remaining largely in the teens across much of the central United States and in the 20s and 30s across the Midwest down to the Gulf Coast.
“In some northern locations, like northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota, they look to maybe get just above zero, at around five to 10 degrees,” said Ms. Santorelli.
In addition to freezing conditions — which could be as much as 30 degrees colder than usual in some areas — forecasters warned that gusty winds could create dangerously low wind chills. The coldest wind chills — a measure of how cold the air feels on exposed skin — could fall as low as minus-50 degrees across the Northern Plains and are expected to be below zero across much of the Central and Eastern United States through Tuesday.
“These kind of wind chills and prolonged cold could pose a life-threatening risk of hypothermia and frostbite,” Ms. Santorelli said. “We’re suggesting that people stay inside, and ensure that their pets and animals also have protection from the cold.”
The bitter cold follows a powerful winter storm that delivered a dangerous mix of snow, sleet and ice to 26 states, from Texas to Massachusetts.
According to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service, many locations had recorded a foot of snow or more by Monday morning. Pittsburgh, Newark, St. Louis and Boston each received at least a foot, while Central Park in New York City measured 11.4 inches.
Farther south, the storm produced significant ice accumulation, with at least one inch of freezing rain reported in parts of Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina.
While much of the central and eastern United States is expected to remain largely dry at the start of the week, forecasters said they are closely monitoring another potential winter storm, that could affect some of the same areas hit by snow and ice over the weekend.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty, we can’t even try to speculate which areas might be impacted or how much snow might fall,” said Ms. Santorelli. “Some of the models are suggesting that some of the locations across the Eastern U.S. that received snow may see another round next weekend, but we’ll just have to keep an eye on that.”
Nazaneen Ghaffar is a Times reporter on the Weather team.
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