The middle of next week looks to be downright dangerous in the north-central contiguous US with morning lows predicted to approach -40 degrees F, discounting the effect of the wind, which will also be in play. When factoring in the effect of 10-20 mph winds to these temperatures, wind chill values will likely reach -60 degrees F.
So why is it going to be so cold?
The first reason is in where the air mass is building right now, locked in over the north pole, where it will be getting progressively colder until it is forced southward. The second reason is just how quickly the air mass will be losing latitude- it takes less than 48 hours to cross the US-Canada border from its start over the icy Arctic ocean. This leaves little in the way of time for the air to modify, as most do, during its southward trek.
The driving force behind this mass movement of air is a fairly potent cyclone over eastern Canada, made possible by a favorable jet stream configuration (a deep trough over eastern North America), that will act to drag down the bitterly cold air directly from within the Arctic Circle.
In addition to the potentially lethal health impacts from exposure to this degree of cold and wind, commerce and school may need to hold off for at least a few hours on Wednesday. This is due to my thinking that car batteries (and those of trucks and school-buses) will have a tough time generating the power necessary to start these engines in these temperatures.
Luckily, this air will not stick around for long, as the current forecast is for the core of the cold air to retreat eastward, all the while moderating, leaving the region mostly above zero (much more tolerable for this part of the world) for the upcoming weekend.
Image source: https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/
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