The current weather front in the northern part of the U.S. may have many residents signing up for a mission to Mars.
The high temperature on the red planet on Thursday was 17.6 degrees, warmer than the high temperatures in 14 northern U.S. states.
Residents of northern states have been fighting bitter cold and wind chills that have caused major outbreaks of frostbite. Hospitals have been reporting people coming in for treatment who didn’t realize how bad the bitter cold would impact their bodies.
Winter Storm Gorgon is moving off the U.S. east coast this weekend and warmer temperatures are expected to cover the northern states. However, the resulting front could bring massive amounts of snow to the Great Lakes region with some models showing up to three feet of snow in some areas.
Wind chill readings of below zero were reported as far south as Alabama, Mississippi and North Carolina.
Many school districts around the nation cancelled their classes Thursday because of the dangerous cold. Detroit reported a high of 3 degrees. Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the Packers are to play a playoff football game this weekend, had a high of 6 degrees. International Falls, historically one of the coldest spots in the continental U.S., reached a high of -1.
Schools have been shut down for at least three days across Jerusalem and many government offices are closing ahead of a massive blizzard that is expected to blanket the city in snow and ice.
The Israel Defense Forces are also moving to a heightened state of alert because of the storm, sending tanks into parts of northern Israel that could face being cut off because of high snowfall on roadways.
At least 1,000 soldiers have been deployed to northern Israel and Jerusalem to assist residents during the storm. The troops will make sure that all area hospitals will remain operational if doctors and nurses cannot make it into their offices because of the storm.
The front wave of the storm brought 45 mile per hour winds to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, downing trees across the region.
Last year a similar storm left wide areas with electricity, water or road access for days. The government will be shutting down major roadways ahead of the storm to avoid having vehicles trapped on the highway as they were in December 2013.
Residents have been spending the week stocking up on basic food supplies.
A major winter storm is striking the northeast during the heart of the Thanksgiving travel period.
Forecasters are predicting snowfall in excess of a foot throughout most of central New England. Heavy rain and wind should reach from western North Carolina through Maine. Thunder snowstorms are a possibility through the region.
“In most cases, the worst time to travel in the mid-Atlantic and New England due to the storm will be on Wednesday and Wednesday night,” wrote AccuWeather’s Elliot Abrams.
Flight delays are possible throughout the New England corridor through the weekend.
Forecasters also are warning about ice covered roads on Thanksgiving and for weekend travel.
At least seven people are confirmed dead from the massive snowstorm that slammed several Great Lakes states.
The storm has dumped massive amounts of snow on New York including six feet of snow on the Buffalo area. A state of emergency exists for 10 counties in New York.
“This storm is an extraordinarily difficult situation, with snowfall that may break records. We are prepared, but we need residents to stay off the roads so that first responders can do their work and keep people safe,” New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said.
“Although the sun may be shining, we are using this opening to clear roads before the snow begins falling again. This is an opportunity to be a good neighbor and check on your fellow New Yorkers to see if they need assistance, but I urge everyone to stay off the road.”
One of the deaths was a 46-year-old man found inside a buried car. A Pennsylvania man was killed when a high lift attempting to free the man’s car ended up pinning him to the car.
Forecasters say that another two to three feet of snow could hit the Buffalo area.
All 50 states had areas below freezing on Tuesday as a polar vortex covered most of the United States.
The National Weather Service said that every state including Hawaii had some point below zero in the last 24 hours. The National Weather Service said that this kind of cold is not normally seen until late December through February.
The National Weather Service near Buffalo said that 60 inches of snow had fallen in their region and that in Erie County experienced four weather related deaths.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a state of emergency for 10 counties who were the hardest hit by the unusual storm. The storm was severe enough that 140 miles of the New York State Thruway along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario were closed.
Forecasters say the early season cold blast will continue through the end of the week.
The first major snowstorm of the season struck Maine Sunday night leaving over 135,000 without power.
The National Weather Service said that Bangor, Maine received 12 inches of snow before the storm weakened and some outlying areas reported more than a foot. A Portland television station reported they passed a foot by 5:30 p.m.
Heavy snow and gusty winds combined to bring down trees, snapping power lines and in some cases poles. Roads across Bangor were closed because of the downed lines blocking major roadways.
Power officials hope to have all the darkened customers back on by Wednesday.
“The utility placed extra crews on standby for the weekend in anticipation of the storm,” Emera spokesman Bob Potts said in a news release. “They will remain in the field addressing problems and working to restore service to customers as safely and quickly as possible.”
Emera had 57,000 customers without power in their region.
Forecasters say the temperatures will rise into the 50s by midweek so the snow will quickly disappear.
Scotland is looking at the possibility of breaking out the snowplows.
IN AUGUST.
A wave of bitter Arctic cold is predicted to descend over the British Isles and bring the coldest wave of weather in August since 1919. Temperatures are forecast to be near freezing overnight and there is a chance of snow and sleet over parts of Scotland.
The high temperatures are not expected to climb about 48 degrees with high winds bring wind chills to well below freezing. The Met Office reports that it’s possible some areas will not even reach 40 degrees during the cold wave.
The normal high temperatures for the region in August run from 75 to 78 degrees.
Complicating the situation is heavy rain that is predicted to hit the islands for the next few days. With the land already saturated from a hurricane that came through weeks ago, the likelihood is high for flooding on top of the frigid temperatures.
‘The weather is certainly looking disappointing for the next couple of weeks,” forecaster Billy Payne of MeteoGroup said, tongue firmly in cheek. “It’s going to be cool and rather unsettled – there’s not much to be optimistic about.”
Summer is just around the corner for the United States, but winter hasn’t given up yet.
Residents of Alta, Utah were surprised with nine inches of snow on Tuesday. More snow is expected in parts of the Northern Rockies until Thursday morning. Meteorologists report winds will gust up to 30 miles per hour and visibility will be less than half a mile during the worst parts of the storm.
“Seeing this in June is crazy,” Utah resident, Jan Frazier said. “I’ve never seen it. You wouldn’t expect thunderclouds like this turning into snow in June, you know?”
State officials hope the weather is a brief anomaly. Local meteorologists predict the temperatures will increase to the lower 90’s by Saturday.
April is less than a week away but many cities across the eastern United States are seeing temperatures that are closer to January.
Arctic air is making another plunge into the eastern U.S. driving temperatures toward record lows. The cold brought below zero conditions as far south as the Alabama panhandle and northern Florida.
The record conditions were as far south as Macon, Georgia, which set an all time low temperature record for the day at 26 degrees.
Toledo, Ohio and Detroit were also confirmed to have cold temperature records.
A blizzard that was predicted to possibly hit New England moved into Atlantic Canada but it brought high wind and cold to the northeast. Temperatures on Cape Cod, Massachusetts hovered near 0 degrees and winds throughout the region were gusting to over 70 miles per hour.
A warm up is expected to begin on Thursday.
The calendar says spring but the thermometers will likely be showing winter temperatures to a majority of the U.S. as another arctic blast sweeps in to start the week.
Forecasters say that temperatures could be as much as 20 degrees below normal in parts of the Midwest and Northwest and 25 degrees below normal in the upper Midwest.
Northern Minnesota cities such as Duluth and International Falls could see high temperatures this week that will stay in the teens and lows well below zero. Cities as far south as St. Louis and Cincinnati could see highs only around 30.
In addition, upper New England faces the strong possibility of a blizzard striking around mid-week. Parts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine could see upwards of a foot of snow before the weekend.
Other parts of New England could see several inches of snow as the bulk of the blizzard will just miss their areas.
A warming trend is expected to start over the weekend.
