US braces for record lows, and frigid winds in widespread winter storm. See where record-low temperatures will strike
Storm system threatens the West Coast with freezing rain and dangerous travel conditions. Arctic blast brings extreme cold across the country.
A blast of frigid Arctic air has plunged the US into a dangerous winter storm, bringing record snowfall, freezing rain, and subzero temperatures across vast swathes of the country.
The storm, which blanketed the Midwest, Great Plains, and Northeast with snow over the weekend, is now driving "dangerously cold temperatures" eastward, with new record lows expected in many places. The National Weather Service warns that conditions could worsen later this week as a second Arctic airmass arrives.
Snowfall rates reached 1 inch per hour in some areas Monday, and record snowfall is forecast for southern states like Texas before spreading to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
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How cold is it going to get today in the States?
Philadelphia braces for its first inch of snow in 714 days, while heavy snowfall disrupts travel and forces school closures in the Great Lakes region. Wind chills as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit are expected in Chicago.
The first Arctic blast brings a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain to the lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys, prompting states of emergency in Alabama and Mississippi.
The National Weather Service issued an "extreme threat" warning for a large swath of Ohio, where wind chills could drop to -10 degrees, and a "significant threat" warning for Missouri and eastern Kansas.
Montana could see temperatures plummet to -40 degrees, with wind chills as low as -70 degrees in some places. Along the northern Gulf Coast, lows may dip into the low 20s, while the deep South braces for temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees, with single digits in some areas.
Portions of the Texas panhandle, Oklahoma, and northern Arkansas could see subzero temperatures, and Iowa and Nebraska may experience lows as cold as -20 degrees. The Iowa caucuses could be held amid record-low temperatures.
In Chicago, air temperatures reached -9 degrees, approaching some of the city's coldest days ever recorded.
Along the West Coast, another storm system is expected to bring freezing rain to southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon, where a falling tree killed an elderly man on Saturday.
The National Weather Service warns of "extremely dangerous" travel conditions due to ice accumulations up to half an inch, with snow and ice creating hazardous road conditions across the region.