Following on the heels of Winter Storm Ajax earlier this week Bella promises to bring the first snows of the season to parts of the Upper Midwest, Corn Belt, and Great Lakes.
An area from northeast Nebraska and southeast South Dakota into much of Iowa and northwest Illinois, is already under winter storm warnings that have been issued by local National Weather Service offices. This means a likelihood for at least 6 inches of snow in 12 hours, or 8 inches of snow in 24 hours.
The National Weather Service upgraded a winter storm watch to a warning early Friday ahead of a storm that meteorologists now say could drop up to 11 inches of snow in North Central Illinois.
Flight delays are probable Saturday, possibly even late Friday night, out of Chicago-O’Hare Airport, and are possible out of smaller regional airports, as well.
Earlier this week, according to Weather Underground, one of the most widespread and damaging bouts of high wind to strike the Northwest U.S. in years tore down trees and power lines and knocked vehicles off roadways from Washington to the northern Great Plains from Tuesday into Wednesday.
According to weather.com, at least four deaths were reported, and more than 1 million people in several states have been affected by power outages, in some cases for hours or days. utility companies are reporting that more than 100,000 customers still without power as of Thursday afternoon.
71 mph winds were reported in Spokane Washington with a whopping 137 mph wind recorded at Mission Ridge Ski Area in Washington.
The winter storm that shut down most of the eastern United States almost resulted in a horrific tragedy at New York’s LaGuardia airport.
A Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta slid off a runway and smashed through a fence. The plane, with 125 passengers and five crew, slid to a stop feet from landing in the water.
Authorities reported at least 3 people were hospitalized for their injuries and many other suffered minor injuries.
The airport closed because of the “aircraft incident.”
Authorities on scene said that two planes landed just before the Delta flight without any problems. The pilots reported “good braking action” for the flight.
The closure of the airport further hampered a day of travel crushed by winter storms. The Dallas/Fort Worth airport, one of the busiest in America, was shot down because of ice covering the airport.
A series of storms across the nation are threatening to make Christmas travel a mess. Thunderstorms across the south, rain in in the east and snowstorms around the Great Lakes could bring serious flight delays and dangerous road conditions.
Up to three inches of snow is predicted for the areas around Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway International airports. Delays and cancellations at two of the nation’s biggest Midwest airports would have repercussions throughout the country.
“I’d be nervous about the possibility of not being able to get out,” Chicago area meteorologist Charles Mott told the Associated Press. “I would definitely make plans about possibly staying put or doing something else.”
Over 4.2 million travelers are expected to go through the Chicago airports during the Christmas season.
Storms across the Rockies caused blowing snow that blocked major highways and even Hawaii is feeling the winter punch as a blizzard warning was issued for the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island. While snow is common, a blizzard is considered unusual by meteorologists.
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.
Winter ends on Thursday but it’s not going out quietly.
Another winter storm struck the nation’s capital on Monday dumping over 7 inches of snow and shutting down all federal offices because of the road conditions.
The storm was the third highest snowfall in history for the second half of March. The official snowfall for the city was 7.2 inches, the highest amount since 1942. The record is 12 inches set in 1891.
The storm was also the largest March snowstorm since 1999.
The storm also raised the amount of snowfall in Philadelphia this winter to the second highest in the city’s history. The city has officially recorded 67.4 inches of snow.
Thousands of flights throughout the mid-Atlantic were canceled or delayed because of the storm system.
Forecasters say that another arctic blast is going to drive temperatures in the northeast to frigid levels.
This week temperatures rose into the 50s or higher for most of the northeast with Philadelphia reaching the 60s and Washington DC into the 70s on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, the cities will see temperatures in the 20s.
Officials are warning drivers that roads which have been wet or slushy because of melting snow and ice from recent storms will quickly freeze in the early morning hours because of the rapid temperate fall. The possibility of dangerous conditions for early morning commutes have many communities encouraging people to plan extra time to head to work or school.
A spokesman for Accuweather said the sudden cold after the unusually high temperatures could bring unexpected problems including broken water mains. The possibility also exists that roadways will crack from the conditions and create more potholes than usual.
While not completely frozen to the riverbed, Niagara Falls is putting on a display of winter beauty from the latest polar vortex.
The upper part of the waterfall has completely frozen in the bitter temperatures, creating the impression for the second time this winter that the legendary waterfall has completely frozen.
The water pressure keeps the falls from freezing to the riverbed meaning that under the stacks of ice the river continues to rage. However, none of the running water can be seen flowing over the falls as sheets of ice blanket the rocks and hills surrounding the falls.
Temperatures in the area have been hovering between zero and 9 degrees this week.
The cold freezing the falls is not the only record cold. In Iowa, Des Moines broke a low temperature record set in 1884. Atlantic City set a record not only for March 3rd but also for the entire month of March with 2 above zero, breaking a record dating back to 1874. Several towns around Washington DC also shattered records.
Parts of the deep south found themselves coated in ice Monday morning while residents along the east coast are digging out from up to a foot of snow.
Airports from Kansas City, Missouri through Washington, DC saw the delay or cancellation of thousands of flights because of a band of snow that covered over half the nation. Parts of St. Louis and Indianapolis had area receive as much as a foot of snow while surrounding areas saw three to six inches.
The snowfall turned to sleet and ice further south. Parts of Arkansas, southern Tennessee and northern Mississippi faced power outages and impassable roads with some locations coated in more than an inch of ice.
Weather forecasters say the snow removal and ice removal will be harder than normal because of the weight of the ice and snow. Heavy moisture from the Gulf of Mexico helped fuel the storm.
The extreme cold weather of the polar vortex has claimed a young victim.
A 6-year-old Bemidji, Minnesota girl is dead after being exposed to the frigid temperatures of that northern community.
The girl was found lying in front of an apartment building, fully dressed in gloves, a coat and hat, but it wasn’t enough for her to be able to survive in the elements. The temperature was 20 below zero with a wind chill passing 40 below.
Emergency personnel pronounced her dead at the scene. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s office is performing an autopsy.
Neighbors say the girl lived in the apartments with her mother and 3-year-old sibling. Police say the girl’s mother was not there the night before the girl’s body was found and they do not know why the girl was outside.
While no arrests have been made, police say that could change pending the outcome of the autopsy.
Forecasters say that a temperature record that was set in the 19th century for Chicago could be in danger over the next week.
The polar vortex bringing cold temperatures back to the Midwest and Upper Plains states could cause Chicago to see a high temperature for Wednesday stay below the record for the date of 10 degrees set in 1888. The standing low record for the date is 1 below zero, but that was not broken overnight. It could still be broken later tonight.
Wind chill is also a major problem in the city with some areas reporting a wind chill more than 20 below zero.
The problem is predicted to be compounded by a second wave of cold air from the arctic that will force temperatures as far as ten below zero with wind chills greater than 30 below zero.
Forecasters say it’s possible the record low maximum temperature for Thursday, also 10 degrees set in 1888, could fall because of the second blast of cold air. The record low on February 28th of zero degrees set in 1884 is also likely to fall.
The blast of cold air is expected to keep driving down temperatures for over a week.
