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A cold wave driven by Arctic air will bring record temperatures, including lows below -17 degrees Celsius or 0 degrees Fahrenheit, to the central and eastern United States, along with snow and winter storms, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned this Wednesday.
"Record-breaking cold is possible over the next few days across the Midwest, the Ohio Valley, and the Mid-Atlantic. Minimum temperatures are forecast to drop below zero in parts of the Midwest by tomorrow morning," the agency indicated in an advisory.
Between 80 million and 220 million people could experience record minimum temperatures for this time of year in more than 30 states across the country, according to meteorologists cited by US media.
The NWS projected in its latest advisory winter weather throughout the week and weekend for "multiple areas of the country," with an emphasis on the Rocky Mountains, the High Plains, the Pacific Northwest, and the Great Lakes, where snow is expected.
In particular, it warned of "particularly brutal" weather in the Midwest, where minimum temperatures will be below -23 degrees Celsius or -10 Fahrenheit, which would "tie or break daily records."
"Much of the central and eastern United States will remain below average in temperature and frozen through the end of the week in this winter-like pattern, which features a broad trough and repeated advances of a cold front," observed the NWS report.
The agency warned of the risk of hypothermia and frostbite, and urged the population to limit time spent outdoors and to bundle up.
Meanwhile, the southeast of the country will experience an area of precipitation with a threat of storms and flash flooding.
A notable exception to the cold wave is Florida, where the local NWS office expects temperatures above average, higher than 26 degrees Celsius or 80 Fahrenheit in cities such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, with dry weather and a high-pressure pattern.
Since October, the NWS had envisioned a winter with divided weather in the United States, with temperatures below average in the Pacific Northwest, the Northern Plains, the Great Lakes, Alaska, Montana, Minnesota, and North Dakota, and above normal in the East, Southwest, and Florida.
[Publicidad]