The US National Weather Service (NWS) has warned of “very cold air” descending from western Canada across the Great Plains region, bringing at least one foot of snow to the northern US plains states.
However, behind the storm is a mass of extremely cold Arctic air that will sweep far to the south and east, creating wind chills as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. A wind chill is lower than the air temperature, and describes how the air feels to living creatures as a result of wind. That said, the air temperatures will also be very cold, dropping to between 35 and 50 degrees below average, and in northern states could reach -30 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday and Friday.
"This level of cold can be life threatening and lead to frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes," the NWS warned.
The storm is expected to rapidly strengthen as it moves southward, becoming a “bomb cyclone” as it crosses the Midest and Great Lakes, bringing blizzard conditions to the region.
The burst of cold air will be so sudden, the NWS has warned of a “flash freeze,” and subzero air temperatures stretching from Denver, Colorado, to Minneapolis, Minnesota. As far east as Washington, DC, and as far south as northern Texas, temperatures are expected to reach the teens for several days.
Coming amid the holiday travel fervor, with Christmas on Sunday, the storm has the potential to paralyze travel across much of the United States for tens of millions of people. Flights will be grounded or delayed and roads and railways will become difficult and dangerous to use. Some airlines, including United, American, Delta, and Southwest, have already begun issuing travel waivers for tickets to travel through dozens of airports between December 21 and 25.
The situation recalls the “polar vortex” crises during the winter of 2013-14, when unusual weather systems destabilized the far northerly weather and sent it spilling down across lower latitudes, bringing temperatures of 21 degrees Fahrenheit to Houston, Texas, and a stunning wind chill in Chicago of -50, leading locals to coin the portmanteau “Chiberia” with Russia’s Siberia region.
More recently, a winter storm swept across the Great Plains and froze much of northern and central Texas in February 2021, wrecking the state’s fragile electrical system and killing at least 246 and possibly as many as 700 people, according to some estimates. Many died in homes that lacked sufficient heating or insulation, or due to carbon monoxide poisoning from improvised heating methods.
According to Texas media, the state’s power company ERCOT has made changes in the wake of the 2021 storm, and the Electric Reliability Council said on Tuesday it did not expect significant power loss in the state as a result of the coming storm.
“As we monitor weather conditions, we want to assure Texans that the grid is resilient and reliable,” ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas said in a statement. “We will keep the public informed as weather conditions change.”