An arctic blast may bring temperatures of -50 degrees to swathes of the West and Midwest next week.
The polar vortex could sweep across the Pacific Northwest and roll into the Central and Midwest of the country over the next five to ten days, meteorologist Ryan Maue said.
Weather outlooks from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center show the cold blast arriving late next week for Central and Eastern parts of the US.
The cold shock would bring temperatures more than 78 degrees below normal for this time of the year.
Meteorologists have argued that an ongoing stratospheric warming event over the North Pole could displace the polar vortex and pour cold air into the Lower 48 states.
Higher precipitation is also expected, which could increase the possibility of snowfall.
Model forecasts suggest a ridge in the Southeast may be able to contain that cold air to the western half of the US and Canada, zerohedge reports.
The potential blast has been compared to the cold weather disaster of Storm Uri in February 2021, which left more than 4 million Texans without power for a record 70.5 hours.
That came after 365 generators were knocked offline as a result of the storm.
Texas, which relies on its own supply and is unprepared for winter conditions, has buckled.
The greatest forced blackout in US history has exposed weaknesses in Texas’ unique approach to power grid management.
It comes as a huge snowstorm continued to hit the Northeast on Sunday, dumping 15 inches of snow on the Hudson Valley and sparking travel chaos across the East Coast.
The area’s first major snowfall in two years, impacting approximately 60 million Americans, is forecast to cause travel delays on the roads and in the skies, according to AccuWeather.
