More Extreme Weather Events to Hit North America

EXTREME CLIMATIC & WEATHER EVENTS
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Dangerously cold temperatures moving east

FIRE-EARTH Models show more Extreme Weather Events could wreak havoc across North America in the coming days and weeks.

Temp (F) – Real Time Mesoscale Analysis. Source: NWS

Polar Vortex

In the northern and central US temperatures felt as low as -60 degrees (-51ºC)  due to wind chill, according to the National Weather Service.

Illinois Governor Quinn called the Polar Vortex “one for the record books,”  as New York Governor Cuomo declared on Monday that parts of major highways would be closed due to the extreme conditions.

In Minneapolis, an emergency room doctor said he was treating frostbite injuries that had occurred even through protective clothing, AP reported.

U.S. Daily Lowest Min Temperature Records set January 1-5, 2014

• Records Broken: 125
• Records Tied: 28

VAN BUREN 2, a National Weather Service station located in Maine, set a new daily record -47 degrees (-44ºC) on January 2, smashing the previous record set in 1999 by 21 degrees.

National High and Low Temperature (for the contiguous United States)

High Temperature for Thursday, January 6, 2014

• 85 degrees (-29ºC) at Fort Lauderdale, FL
• 85 at Hollywood, FL
• 85 at Miami, FL
• 85 at Opa Locka, FL
• 85 at West Kendall, FL

Low Temperature for Thursday, January 6, 2014

• -37 degrees (-38ºC) at Babbitt, MN

Issued 7 pm EST Thursday, January 2, 2014 – NWS Weather Prediction Center, College Park, MD

Temperature spread:  124 degrees

A Silver Lining?

In Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport about 60 percent of the flights were canceled as fuel supplies froze, leaving crews unable to fill aircraft tanks, reported Reuters.

Total flight cancellations on Saturday:  1,771 (from or into the U.S., 1,507)
Total flight cancellations on Sunday: 3,905  (US: 3,517)
Total flight cancellations on Monday: 4,459 and  (US: 4,018)
Total cancellations on Tuesday, as of posting: 1,522 and (US: 1,376)
Total Flight delays for the period, as of posting:  47,765 (US: 26,574)
(Source: FlightAware.com)

Related Links and Chronology

• 2014: Year Five of Human-Enhanced Natural Disasters  January 1, 2014
• Major Winter Storm to Batter Midwest, Northeast January 2, 2014
• States of Emergency Declared in New York, New Jersey January 3, 2014
• Climate and Weather Extremes Plaguing the World January 4, 2014
• Deadly Cold Plagues U.S. January 5, 2014
• UPDATED: Deadly Cold Plagues U.S. January 5, 2014
• Giga Arctic Blast Affecting 250 Million in 40 States January 5, 2014
• States of Emergency Declared in NW Indiana, Tennessee January 6, 2014