Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Two-thirds of the country could be hit, and even Southern States like Florida won’t be safe.
A wave of Arctic air is pushing across much of the United States this week, bringing some of the season’s coldest conditions yet and impacting millions of people from the Great Plains to the Deep South.
Forecasters said the sweeping cold front would send temperatures plunging across the eastern two-thirds of the country, with parts of the Southeast — including Florida — bracing for record lows after basking in warmth just a day earlier.
Sudden shift in the South
According to the National Weather Service, wind chills in northern Florida could dip into the 30s Fahrenheit (around minus 1 Celsius). The drastic temperature drop has even prompted familiar questions about the fate of the state’s iguanas — invasive reptiles known to freeze and fall from trees when temperatures dip below 40 degrees (4 C).
Across the southern states, local governments opened warming shelters for residents struggling to stay safe in the unseasonable cold.
Midwest braces for snow
Further north, winter weather warnings stretched from the Great Lakes through the Appalachian Mountains.
Meteorologists predicted 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of snow across wide areas, with the potential for heavy lake-effect snow along Lake Erie that could bury nearby towns while sparing others.
Cold weather alerts covered Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky, while freezing temperatures extended as far south as Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Georgia.
Travel and transport chaos
The cold snap has already caused widespread flight delays, with waits of up to four hours reported at major hubs like Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The situation worsened as the Federal Aviation Administration’s ongoing budget shutdown forced thousands of unpaid air traffic controllers to call out of work.
In Evanston, Illinois, snow covered the ground as a surfer caught a wave on Lake Michigan — a surreal image of the season’s extremes.
Local struggles deepen
In Missouri, where residents are still recovering from a devastating EF3 tornado that hit in May, St. Louis officials announced emergency shelters for both the homeless and those waiting for home repairs.
Meanwhile in Tennessee, snowfall of up to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) led to school closures and a multi-car crash on Interstate 40 near Putnam County, where the highway was closed for an hour on Sunday morning.
Northern states on alert
Meteorologists issued winter weather advisories across Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin, warning of dangerous travel conditions and low visibility. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, up to a foot (30 centimeters) of snow was expected by Monday.
Indiana could see as much as 11 inches (28 centimeters), while Wisconsin braced for 6 inches (15 centimeters). Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota faced “patchy blowing snow” and near-freezing wind chills, following several inches of snowfall over the weekend.
Sources: Associated Press, National Weather Service
