If you packed away your winter coat, dig it back out.
Meteorologists say the polar vortex, which has wreaked so much havoc on temperatures and winter storms, is coming back for at least one more round before the winter is over.
The National Weather Service reports that record cold temperatures are possible for the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and High Plains areas of the country. Minneapolis, Chicago, Buffalo and other northern cities could face temperatures as much as 40 degrees lower than normal this week.
The Climate Prediction Center says the frigid temperatures could last through the first week of March.
The latest winter storm to hit the East Coast has helped raise record levels of snow.
In Philadelphia, the snowfall Tuesday raised this winter’s total to the third highest in the history of the city. Officials said the snowfall level was surprising because only one of the 13 winter storms that brought snowfall reached more than one foot of snow, although 11 storms with more than one inch of snow ties two other winter seasons since recordkeeping began in the 1800s.
Another 2-4 inches is possible on Wednesday before temperatures will rise into the 40s.
In New York, the storm brought enough snow to raise the amount of February snowfall to 28 inches, more than the average snowfall for the entire winter season in Central Park. The overall snowfall total is the seventh highest in New York City history.
New Jersey officials who had been facing a shortage of road salt decided to stop waiting on the Department of Homeland Security to give a waiver for an international barge to bring salt from Maine and have found an American barge which is heading to Maine.
A fun outing for two Idaho fathers and their children turned into a nightmare when their SUV ended up stuck in the snow.
The men and their children ended up walking 19 miles in the bitter cold for nine hours to reach help.
Will Murkle and his 10-year-old daughter Megun were traveling with John Julian and his 8-year-old daughter Samantha and 7-year-old son Isaac when they realized they had no cellphone service or supplies after the accident.
The group said they sang songs to try and pass the time during the hike and would huddle together for warmth. They said the only time they really became scared was around midnight when they found fresh wolf tracks in the snow along their path.
“We could tell wolves had been in the area recently,” Murkle told ABC. The group ended up not encountering any wolves.
The fathers said they promised the children cheeseburgers, hot chocolate, fries and soda after the walk was over.
10-year-old Megun said she won’t be leaving the house again without an extra blanket, sleeping bags, food and water.
Another day, another winter weather record.
Meteorologists say that 5 inches of snow fell at Chicago’s O’Hare airport Monday bringing the total for the winter season to 67.9 inches. The total ranks as the 5th highest in the history of the state.
The storm brought whiteout conditions to Chicago through Cleveland and forced the cancellation or delay of over 2,000 flights from Chicago’s two major airports.
Some of the snowfall was “thunder snow” accompanied by lightning and thunder. Some communities reported as much as two inches of snow falling in a single hour. Parts of northern Michigan reported up to 9 inches of snow from the storm.
The storm is now moving rapidly to the East Coast for the third heavy snowstorm in the last three weeks. New York, Philadelphia and Boston are all expected to see significant accumulations. Power outages are likely with at least 2,000 customers in southeastern Pennsylvania in the dark as of Tuesday morning.
Officials from Maryland to Maine have issued travel advisories for the afternoon commute.
As another major winter storm bears down on the northeast, the Department of Homeland Security is working to make it harder and more expensive for New Jersey communities to keep ice off the roads.
New Jersey officials were trying to obtain tons of salt from Maine that would be delivered along the East Coast by barge for communities that have run out during the heavy winter of 2013-2014. However, Homeland Security has prohibited the shipments claiming they violate the 1920 Federal Maritime Act.
The 1920 Act says that no ship flying a flag other than American or flying no flag at all cannot transfer goods from one American port to another. The law was put in place to protect the U.S. shipping industry from foreign competition.
The barge was not an American ship and so it had to sail away empty, leaving the much needed road salt sitting at a port in Maine.
The mayor of Jersey City said he’s been waiting two weeks for salt shipments from smaller suppliers. They received 200 tons Tuesday and are hoping another 300 would arrive before the current storm front strikes. Mayor Steve Fulop noted the city usually uses 800 tons of salt for a winter storm.
The city has had to rely on much more expensive liquid brine and sand for city streets.
Officials say they are trying to work with Homeland Security to obtain larger shipments.
After leaving over 100,000 people across the south without power, a massive winter storm has now dumped record amounts of snowfall across parts of the northeast.
The 130-year-old record for snowfall in Philadelphia was blown away on Thursday and for the first time in the history of the city they have had four snowfalls of six inches or more in the same winter season. This winter is now in the top 5 for snowfall in the city’s history.
City officials told residents to stay home as the snow fell at rates of as much as 2 inches an hour. If someone had to travel, they were told to take a fully charged cell phone and warm clothes in the likely event they would be stuck by the conditions.
Bus and rail service was suspended throughout the region because of the unsafe travel conditions.
Meteorologists say the back end of the storm could bring a second major punch with significant snowfall including thundersnow.
The massive winter storms that shut down most of the eastern United States have now caused more flight cancellations than any storm in the last 25 years.
According to data from the flight tracking website FlightAware, 5.5% of all U.S. flights scheduled since December 1st have been cancelled because of the winter storms that have wreaked havoc from the Gulf Coast to the Canadian border.
At least 14,000 flights have been cancelled so far this week because of the most recent storm.
On Thursday, more than 70% of flights from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Charlotte were cancelled because of the dangerous icy conditions. The record flight data since December 1st also notes that ice caused cancellations in airports where it normally has very little impact like Dallas and Houston.
Part the increase is related to a 2010 Department of Transportation rule that airlines may not keep passengers in a plane on the tarmac more than 3 hours.
As predicted, a huge winter storm has left tens of thousands across the south without electricity and placed layers of ice on trees and power lines.
The storm system is now bearing down on the northeast, potentially bringing a foot and a half of snow to Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
North Carolina officials reported scenes similar to two weeks earlier in Atlanta where drivers abandoned vehicles on roads so coated with ice that they were unable to continue driving. Commutes that normally lasted a few minutes were taking hours. Police across the region reported thousands of car accidents.
At least 14 people have been killed in incidents related to the storm. A teenager in Atlanta barely escaped being a victim when a tree quickly fell just feet from where he was standing.
The weather was so bad in parts of north Georgia that the Oconee County Sheriff declared Valentine’s Day to be canceled so men did not go outside to try and buy gifts for their wives.
The second winter storm in two weeks is likely to bring “crippling ice totals” to Atlanta and parts of the east coast Wednesday.
The National Weather Service said some areas could end up with 18 inches of precipitation as a result of Winter Storm Pax. While most of the Carolinas will receive snow, Georgia officials are preparing for up to an inch of ice.
Over 86,000 residents in the southeast have already lost power because of the storm and tens of thousands likely will lose power before the end of the day Wednesday.
Seven deaths have been directly attributed to the storm. Over 75 percent of the flights from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport were canceled due to the weather. The number is expected to climb through the day Wednesday.
Alabama and Georgia were under states of emergency because of the storm. Alabama officials reported ice starting to build up on vehicles and power lines early Wednesday morning as the storm moves east. In some parts of Georgia, a half inch of ice has already accumulated on trees and power lines before the bulk of the storm.
National Guard troops in Georgia are on stand by to evacuate nursing homes or hospitals if power lines go down. Georgia officials say it’s possible to have “catastrophic” problems with the power grid.
The second major winter storm to roar through the south in less than two weeks is shutting down schools, airports and highways.
The National Weather Service described the storm as potentially being a “catastrophic event” that could bring record weather events. Schools across Georgia called off classes for Tuesday before any show fell and likely will continue the postponements as forecasts call for sleet and freezing rain through Wednesday.
Atlanta, which was paralyzed by the previous storm, took to the roads to pre-treat them ahead of potential icing. The National Guard has 1,400 four-wheel drive vehicles on stand by to help any stranded motorists in the area.
Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for part of the state Monday.
Over 1,100 flights were canceled by Tuesday morning and another 2,600 were delayed because of the weather. The number is expected to jump significantly over the next 48 hours.
Political observers say the storm could be a potential catastrophe for the Republican governor who is up for re-election and saw a hit to his approval ratings after the botched snow removal efforts during the last storm.
