United States: Unlike last summer, millions of Americans woke up to snow, freezing rain, and bitter cold on Tuesday morning as a wave of arctic air engulfed most parts of the US, bringing an end to an almost two years long ‘snow drought’ in New York City while leaving much western portion under deep freeze.
Cold Grips the Nation
Record lows were expected in the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Midwest, with wind chills below 30 degrees F (-7.8 C) reaching mid-Mississippi Valley by morning.
Briggsdale, Colorado, the smallest town in the country with a population of 134, recorded -36 F (-38 C) as the lowest temperature on Tuesday morning.
When told she was close to the coldest in America, Katie Sizemore commented it is out of her mind that as a barista at Blue Mug Coffee Bar in Greeley, Colorado.
Greeley, 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the south of Briggsdale, was about 12 degrees warmer than its northern neighbor; however, Sizemore said the locals had braced themselves for the cold by layering their clothing and cranking up heaters.
“We don’t go outside for very long,” she said.
Residents of New York City, which had not gotten more than an inch (2.5 cm) of snow in nearly two years, awoke to a winter wonderland outside their windows. As of Tuesday morning, Manhattan’s Central Park had 1.4 inches (3.6 cm) of snow, bringing an end to a “snow drought” of 701 days with only a little dusting.
“The streak has ended!” the National Weather Service’s New York office announced on Facebook, causing followers to respond to what most perceived as a pleasant surprise.
Snow Blankets the Capital
Within a single night, Washington, DC, was blanketed in white powder 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm), while Philadelphia and Baltimore received 2 inches (8cm).
However, the meteorological agency forecasted that New England could expect an additional 2 to 4 inches (5–10 cm) of snow from its area into parts of New York until a break in frost on Wednesday is expected.
On top of 3 feet (91 cm) that came down over the weekend, Buffalo, New York, had between one and three feet per day. On Tuesday, the weather service announced a “lake effect” snow warning for most of western New York that would remain in law until Thursday evening.
According to the weather service, such snowfall is common for western New York in winter when waters of unfrozen lakes mix with icy air up high and form clouds that pile into heavy rain rapidly.
According to Bob Oravec of the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, snow fell in the Appalachians and Western North Carolina, while Southern areas had unexpected cold snaps.
Unexpected Snowfall
Nashville, Tennessee, “which doesn’t see a lot of heavy snow,” received 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm), according to Oravec. Residents of Mobile, Alabama, in the heart of the Deep South, awoke to freezing rain and a rare 31°F (-0.5°C).
At least five individuals have died as a result of the weather since the weekend, including two in Oregon due to hypothermia in recent days, according to local media.
A series of large power outages this weekend was generally resolved, but more than 50,000 people in Oregon remained without power on Tuesday morning. According to data from PowerOutage.us, tens of thousands of people were without power across Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama.
The operator of Texas’ power grid encouraged residents to conserve electricity on Tuesday morning owing to heavy demand during the winter storm, as reported by Reuters.