We are just a little over a month away from the spring equinox. The days are gradually getting longer, and the sun is shining more. However, brace yourselves as the polar vortex is set to descend over a large part of the United States once again. This time, it might be even colder than the previous occurrences. This upcoming vortex will mark the tenth one this year, and it is anticipated to be quite intense.
Meteorologists are cautioning that the chilliest burst of Arctic air for this season is on its way to put a frosty emphasis on America’s winter, which has seen multiple visits from the polar vortex. The cold snap is expected to linger throughout the entirety of the coming week.
Various weather phenomena in the Arctic are merging to drive the cold air, typically confined to the North Pole, not only into the United States but also across to Europe, as stated by numerous meteorologists to The Associated Press.
This will be the 10th time this winter that the polar vortex — which keeps the coldest of Arctic air penned in at the top of the world — stretches like a rubber band to send some of that big chill south, said Judah Cohen, seasonal forecast director at the private firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research. In a normal winter, it happens maybe two or three times.
This winter, with record snow in New Orleans and drought and destructive wildfires in Southern California, has not been normal.
Since the start of meteorological winter on December 1st of last year, New Orleans has seen more snow than Anchorage. And it’s Anchorage-style temperatures – maybe even Fairbanks-style temperatures – that much of the U.S. east of the Rockies will be seeing.
The latest projected cold outbreak should first hit the northern Rockies and northern Plains Saturday and then stick around all next week. The cold will likely concentrate east of the Rockies with only the far American west and central and southern Florida exempted, meteorologists said.
On Tuesday, expect the Lower 48 states to have an average low of 16.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 Celsius), and then plunge to 14 degrees (minus 10 Celsius) on Wednesday, calculated private meteorologist Ryan Maue, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist.
OK, so maybe not Fairbanks.
Needless to say, a lot of the more southerly cities, like New Orleans, aren’t in any way prepared for this kind of weather, and that can be a matter of very real concern. If a city like Minneapolis, Buffalo, or Boise gets a foot of snow, they have people, equipment, and protocols for dealing with it. If New Orleans gets a foot of snow, all the locals can do is stay indoors and wait for it to melt. And it may be belaboring the obvious to note that houses in New Orleans are not, for the most part, built for wintry weather.
In the last round, here in the Great Land, we saw a long, unseasonably warm spell, with temps in the 40s – turning everything into wet ice and making driveways and side roads near-impassible. Traction gravel is the answer to that, and the boroughs went through much of the existing supply. There will likely be some quarrying jobs available this summer. Why were we warm? Because that same polar vortex that slammed into the lower 48 drew warm, wet Pacific air up over Alaska.
It’s been a weird winter, both here and in the lower 48. But, take heart; spring isn’t that far off, and as you dig out your long johns and mittens, remember that your Alaska cousins deal with this every year, from November to March. Dress in layers, dress for the weather, not the trip, and consider buying a couple of turtlenecks. You lose a lot of heat through the neck.
Good luck, everyone.
