Polar vortex set to bring record low temperatures across much of US

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/05/polar-vortex-record-low-temperatures-us

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Temperatures not seen in years are likely to set records in the coming days across the midwest, north-east and south, creating dangerous travel conditions and prompting church and school closures.

A "polar vortex" will affect more than half of the continental US, starting Sunday and into Monday and Tuesday, with wind chill warnings stretching from Montana to Alabama. The vortex is an anticlockwise-rotating pool of cold, dense air, and is behind the startling forecast: -25F (-31C) in Fargo, North Dakota, -31F (-35C) in International Falls, Minnesota, and -15F (-26C) in Indianapolis and Chicago.

The bitterly cold temperatures pushed into northern states on Sunday morning. The National Weather Service reported a temperature of -9F (-23C) in Bismarck, North Dakota, and-21F (-29.5C) at Duluth, Minnesota. At the height of the cold, wind chills may reach 50, 60 or even 70 below zero in fahrenheit (-45.5, 51 or even 56.7C).

"It's just a dangerous cold," NWS meteorologist Butch Dye said on Sunday morning in Missouri.

Snow preceded the polar air and was expected to fall throughout much of Sunday from Michigan to Kentucky. Forecasts predicted up to 1ft in eastern Missouri and parts of central Illinois, several inches in western Tennessee and 1-3in in Kentucky.

The weather created travel problems. In New York City, a plane from Toronto landed at JFK International Airport and then slid into snow on a taxiway. No injuries were reported, but the airport temporarily suspended operations for domestic and international flights because of icy runways.

Mike Duell, of the flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, said on Saturday to expect delays and flight cancellations. "For some of them, they run into limitations on the aircraft. They're only certified to take off at temperatures so low so if they get into a particular cold front it can prevent them from being able to legally take off," he said. "In a lot of cases, it's just ice."

In Missouri, the state Department of Transportation warned that most major roadways were snow-covered, it was too cold for rock salt to be very effective and the wind was whipping, causing whiteout conditions.

"If it gets to the point where it's no longer safe, we will consider suspending operations," said MoDOT spokeswoman Marie Elliott.

In many parts of the US, it has not been this cold for almost two decades. Because of that, medical experts are reminding people that frostbite and hypothermia can set in quickly at -15 to -30F (-26 to -34.4C), and that it is vital to be dressed properly for the temperatures.

"A person not properly dressed could die easily in those conditions," said NWS meteorologist Scott Truett in St Louis, describing the expected wind chill in Missouri at daybreak on Monday.

Southern states are bracing for possible record temperatures too. Meteorologists in central and north Georgia say temperatures could drop into the single digits fahrenheit (-17 to -13C) by Tuesday, accompanied by wind chills as low as -15F (-26C). Elsewhere, Minnesota has called off school Monday for the entire state the first such closing in 17 years. Schools were also closed in the Wisconsin cities of Milwaukee and Madison.

Sunday's National Football League playoff game at Green Bay's Lambeau Field could be among one of the coldest ever played, at -2F (-19C) when the Packers and the San Francisco 49ers kick off in the afternoon. Doctors suggest that fans wear at least three layers and drink warm fluids, not alcohol.

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