A large portion of the United States will face heavy snow, subzero temperatures and dangerously cold winds this week, likely leading to flight delays and impassable roads during one of the busiest travel times of the year.
The National Weather Service predicts potentially dangerous midweek weather conditions. Combined with gusts of wind, temperatures can reach almost minus 30 degrees in the central and north-central regions of the country.
Subzero temperatures are even forecast for parts of southern Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida later this week and into next week, the service said.
“With such a large and powerful storm system, it is imperative that travelers check the latest forecasts before venturing out,” the service said in a forecast posted on its website on Tuesday.
A surge of Arctic air crossing the country along with a cold front is expected to create blizzard conditions in parts of the Plains and Great Lakes region, while a sudden freeze could occur from the mid-south to the east coast.
Residents in the affected areas fretted on social media about disruptions to travel, the prospect of being trapped in their homes and the plight of their homeless neighbours.
“It’s inconceivable that we have people living without shelter in Chicago winters, let alone during a Christmas blizzard,” said one Twitter user.
Heavy snow is also likely in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest, with the heaviest icefalls expected for the highest terrain in the Cascade Mountains, northern Idaho, northwest Montana and western Wyoming, the National Weather Service.
Winter storms in the US have shifted northward and increased in frequency and intensity over the past 70 years, according to the US Global Change Research Program.
Snowstorms are expected to shed greater volumes of ice as a result of the climate crisis, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, because the planet evaporates more water into the atmosphere as it warms, leading to more precipitation overall.
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