On Friday, wind chill warnings were raised to parts of the northern plains and upper midwest, where the values were projected to dip 30 to 50 degrees below zero during the next weekend.
This is a life-threatening cold and freezing can settle in 10 minutes.
The air mass responsible for lowering temperatures 20-30 degrees below the average is coming from thousands of kilometers away in Siberia, Russia. This origin of the air mass is the reason why meteorologists so often call arctic outbreaks like this one “Siberian Express”.
Although this outbreak in the Arctic is not a record with only a few possible low points, what worries meteorologists most is the duration. Some locations, like Bismarck, North Dakota, can see five days or more with chills 15 degrees below zero or colder.
On Saturday morning, Minneapolis will wake up to below-zero air temperatures, with an icy thermal sensation of 20 degrees below zero. Chicago will manage low temperatures just above zero, but the thermal sensation will still make it look 12 degrees below zero.
More snow coming to the East Coast
This is just one of the impactful weather stories that remind people that we are still in the middle of winter. For East folks, another winter storm is on its way to Super Bowl Sunday.
On Saturday, the storm will spread across the Gulf Coast and Southeast and will bring heavy rains in Florida and the Carolinas.
On Sunday, the storm is expected to accelerate to the coast bringing a quick blast of snow to the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast.
At the moment, the amounts of snow seem more uncomfortable than the high impact or significant, 2 to 4 inches, and it will be a quick move. That will mean about 6 hours of snow instead of 60 hours of snow like what happened earlier this week with the long-running Nor’easter.
New York City recorded snow on three of the four days this month, with 15.4 inches of snow so far this month, making it the snowiest February in 8 years.