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Arctic air is funneling across the US, delivering the coldest air of the year, while the wind chill levels will reach dangerous lows in some areas; plus, more weather news and today’s forecast.
Frigid Arctic air will seep into the upper Midwest, Northeast and Southern portions of the country beginning today.
Gusty breezes will deliver dangerously cold wind chills two at least two-thirds of the US this week. Monday morning temperatures will drop as much as 26 degrees from where they were 24 hours earlier in some areas, especially in the South.
Bone-chilling temperatures will feel much colder than thermometer readings due to the wind chill factor, particularly in the following areas: Bismarck -10, Minneapolis 11, Omaha -5, Kansas City 2, St. Louis 13, Detroit 15, Syracuse 10, and Boston 18.
The wind chill factor will also make it feel colder in the South, with Atlanta feeling at freezing with 32 degrees, Nashville 23, Charlotte 33, Charleston 40, Montgomery 38, Little Rock 35, New Orleans 36, and Jacksonville 50.
Arctic air is moving into the state of Florida, where the central region of the state will see some of its coldest temperatures of the year beginning on Monday.
Wind chills are forecast to reach dangerously low levels by Wednesday. Gusty winds will drive wind chill levels down to the upper teens on Wednesday.
Temperatures will also plummet into the upper 20s in some areas, while temperatures are forecast to dip at or below the freezing mark in eight areas including Gainesville, Ocala, Leesburg, Sanford, Brooksville, Orlando, and Lakeland.
Daytime high temperatures for Central Florida are forecast to 62 on Monday, 57 on Tuesday, and 63 on Wednesday, where the average low will be 36 degrees.
However, many areas will dip to the freezing mark or lower.
Despite below-freezing temperatures, there is little chance of snow, as rain chances don’t occur until Friday and Saturday, with a 40% likelihood of precipitation on both days.
The last time Tampa Bay saw snow was 43 years ago, on January 19, 1977, when the area officially recorded 0.2 inches of snow.
However, some areas east of Tampa received between 0.5 to 2 inches.
Since 1890, there have only been two times where enough snow occurred in Tampa Bay to actually accumulate, and only 11 times when snowflakes were ever reported.
West: San Francisco 56, Los Angeles 65, Reno 50, Salt Lake City 41, Denver 53.
Northwest: Seattle 49, Portland 52, Cut Bank 35, Billings 42.
Southwest: Las Vegas 61, Phoenix 78, Albuquerque 49, El Paso 59.
North-central: Bismarck 18, Rapid City 37, Minneapolis 18, Chicago 30.
Central: Kansas City 16, Oklahoma City 51, St. Louis 23, Dallas 57.
East-central: Detroit 24, Cincinnati 32.
South: Houston 62, New Orleans 51, Memphis 35, Atlanta 38, Charlotte 40, Jacksonville 55, Tampa 62, Miami 74.
East: Norfolk 37, Washington 36, Buffalo 23, New York 34, Boston 30, Bangor 15.
