Winter is coming: Arctic blast expected to grip large parts of US in December
A blast of Arctic temperatures may grip parts of the United States next month. Forecasters don’t have an exact date yet, but there is a strong consensus among meteorologists that December is likely to be an especially frigid month for millions of Americans.
‘First week of December is the appetizer’
Forecasters predict that the colder-than-average weather will most likely occur in the northern and northeastern U.S. Some meteorologists say that a weaker polar vortex, among other factors, is likely to push some of Earth’s most frigid temperatures toward the United States.
“My thinking is that the cold in the first week of December is the appetizer and the main course will be in mid-December,” climatologist Judah Cohen, a research scientist at MiT, told USA Today.
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The coldest temperature ever documented in the continental U.S. was 70 degrees below zero on Jan. 20, 1954, in Rogers Pass, Montana.
Why is the Arctic air headed toward the US?
Computer models, including Cohen’s, show a weaker polar vortex is largely to blame for the phenomenon. When the polar vortex is strong, it keeps cold air contained near the North Pole, but when it weakens or breaks apart, frigid air spills out to the south.
But when will this happen? Cohen has his own expertise, along with some help from artificial intelligence, to make an educated guess on the timeline for when the coldest temperatures will roll into the United States.
When will most frigid temperatures hit?
“Lots of hype about the #PolarVortex but is it deserved? Our Air subseasonal model, which I can credibly claim as the world’s best is predicting that the most expansive region of most likely extreme #cold on earth stretches from the Canadian Plains to the US East Coast 3rd week of Dec.,” Cohen wrote on X on Nov. 23.
According to the National Weather Service, the most frigid cold won’t slam into the United States until later in December, below-average temperatures are expected in parts of the West, Midwest and East Coast next week, with some close-to-average temperatures predicted for Southeast states and warmer conditions in Florida.
The coldest outliers are expected over the Midwest on Monday, Dec. 1 and Tuesday Dec. 2, with high temperatures expected only reach into the 10s to mid-20s for many of the impacted regions, and lows of around 0 closer to northern Missouri and Illinois by Monday morning as the bone-chilling air mass sets in over the area.
While some Americans can expect subzero overnight lows as those remain a possibility in eastern Montana to North Dakota, according to NWS.
Holiday travel impact and snow predictions
The weather may impact some holiday travel, but meteorologists noted that forecasts are subject to change. They explain that specific details about the Arctic air mass will become more clear in the days ahead.
As far as snow is concerned, Meteorologists emphasize that those conditions are not well-known until just days ahead of such a weather event.
Advice for those that must travel and homeowners
For those traveling in the extreme cold, the National Weather Service recommends dressing in warm layers of clothing, maintaining a full gas tank, keeping a fully charged phone and packing a survival kit, which includes blankets or sleeping bags, water, snacks, a flashlight, batteries, a spare phone charger and other essential items. Forecasters urge people to avoid travel in extreme temperatures and to do so only if necessary.
Officials also advise homeowners to weather-proof homes by insulating windows and walls and disconnecting outdoor hoses to prevent damage to pipes.
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