Arctic Blast to Hit Continental U.S. This Weekend
Dangerously low temperatures from a powerful Arctic blast are expected to result in most of the United States experiencing some of the coldest temperatures of the past year.
The blast—unforgiving and intensely cold air linked to the polar vortex—will travel from Siberia and move south over Canada, hitting the northern U.S. by Saturday morning, reaching the West and Central U.S. by Saturday, and the South and East U.S. by Sunday. Come Monday, temperatures across the contiguous 48 states could be almost 30 degrees below normal. Temperatures are expected to stay severely low until Tuesday, 21 January, and up to Thursday in some areas.
Before the temperatures drop, a momentary spike in temperatures was occurring in central regions of the nation on Thursday and Friday, with some cities recording above-average temperatures, according to CNN.
“The most extreme cold will settle over the Dakotas later this weekend into early next week. Bismark, North Dakota, hasn’t had a below zero high temperature since last January, but that could happen on both Sunday and Monday,” CNN reported. Temperatures in this region are expected to drop to 40 to 50 degrees below zero come Monday morning.
The rest of the Lower 48 will see wind chills pushing the mercury down into the single digits on Monday morning. The cold could endanger public health, stress electricity grids, damage crops, and impact notable outdoor events, Axios reported.
In general, it’s encouraged to stay indoors during extreme cold and limit the amount of bare skin exposed to the air while outdoors. NPR recommends putting together a cold weather survival kit and keeping it on hand or in the car, as well as dressing in several layers—a moisture-wicking base layer, then an insulating piece, and lastly a wind-insulating top layer.
A polar vortex in January 2024 sent temperatures plummeting for much of the United States, coinciding with several events and resulting in the coldest National Football League (NFL) games and the coldest Iowa caucuses on record.
Just like last year, the NFL has slated several games for the weekend. In Kansas City, Missouri, the Houston Texans will face the Kansas City Chiefs, with both sides contending against the temperature that’s expected to linger in the 20s for Saturday with the wind chill driving it into the teens. Last year, during the Chiefs and Dolphins game (also in Kansas City), more than a dozen people were taken to local hospitals for treatment after exposure to the cold, with many more showing signs of hypothermia.
Other games scheduled to play in the cold will include the Baltimore Ravens against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in Orchard Park, New York, and also on Sunday the Los Angeles Rams square off against the Philadelphia Eagles in the City of Brotherly Love, possibly playing in the snow. At least the Washington Commanders will face the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday in a domed stadium.
Meanwhile, on 20 January in Washington, DC, President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office. The event has been moved indoors due to temperature forcasts of 20 degrees. The swearing-in ceremony will be performed in the Capitol's Rotunda. The parade celebration has been moved to nearby Capital One Arena, which already was set to hold a post-parade rally, and will show the swearing-in ceremony broadcast on the arena's jumbotron. Moving Inauguration celebrations inside last occured in 1985 when Ronald Reagan was sworn in for a second term amid temperatures in the single digits. The change scuttled the carefully planned outdoor Inauguration security measures and initiated a move to back-up plans. The parts of the plan that the public needs to know, such as street closures, will be forthcoming.