BISMARCK (AP) – Another blast of winter weather is expected in parts of the United States (US) in the coming days, including bone-chilling wind in the Northern Plains and unusual snow and ice in the Gulf Coast area.
Cold weather forecasted for today for Washington, DC, prompted President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural ceremony to be moved inside the US Capitol Rotunda.
Much of the US from the Rockies into the Northern Plains saw colder than normal temperatures from yesterday into the coming week, including forecasted wind chills down to minus 40 degrees Celcius (°C) or colder in the Dakotas and northern Minnesota, National Weather Service Meteorologist Marc Chenard said.
In such cold conditions, frostbite can develop on exposed skin in 10 minutes or less, so people should don coats, hats and gloves and minimise time outdoors, said a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck Connor Smith. As happened earlier this month, this latest cold snap comes from a disruption in the polar vortex, the ring of cold air usually trapped about the North Pole.
The cold air will moderate as it moves southward and eastward, but the central and eastern US will still be cold with highs in the teens and 20s today and into tomorrow, Chenard said.
The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast also will have highs in the teens and 20s, lows in the single digits and below minus 18°C and wind chills below zero.
“Cold weather will impact a lot of the country, especially the Rockies and points east,” Chenard said.
Unusual wintry weather of snow, sleet and freezing rain threaten Texas into northern Florida and the Carolinas, he said.
Impacts are expected to start in Texas tonight and spread across the Gulf Coast and Southeast tomorrow into Wednesday. “Will be another relatively fast-moving storm but likely to produce some impactful winter weather in areas that don’t see it as often,” Chenard said.
Impacts along the coast might include sleet, freezing rain and ice accumulation on roadways, and primarily snow and maybe sleet away from the coast, he said. The potential for several inches of snow could likely cause travel disruptions for areas not used to snow, he said.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry on Saturday issued a state of emergency in advance of the wintry weather. He encouraged Louisianans to be prepared and to monitor the weather forecast.
Meanwhile, snow will move across parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, starting in the Mid-Atlantic on Sunday and spreading toward New York City and into New England later that day, said Chenard.
The short burst of heavier snow could bring five centimetres (cm) to 20cm, Chenard said.
The wintry weather is typical for the area and will bring accumulating, plowable snowfall, Chenard said.
Motorists could encounter treacherous conditions out East, and some airports could see issues, he said.
The forecast for snow and frigid temperatures prompted Baltimore officials to cancel the city’s annual Martin Luther King Jr parade scheduled for today.
Mayor Brandon Scott said on the social platform X that it was a “difficult decision” made out of “an abundance of caution for the safety of our participants and spectators.”
