U.S. Northeast Entombed in Ice

Deep freeze plagues U.S. northeast

A bitterly cold airmass has invaded the eastern U.S this weekend bringing the coldest temperatures of the season. Gusty winds will combine with these cold temperatures to create dangerous wind chills well below zero in many parts of the Northeast. Meanwhile, a developing storm in the Plains will bring wintry precipitation to the Midwest and Ohio Valley on Sunday. —NWS

“Life-threatening” freeze has gripped the NE U.S., with Wind Chill Warnings, and Wind Chill Advisories issued for more than a dozen states extending from North Carolina to Maine.

Meanwhile, a blizzard contributed to a 50-plus-vehicle pileup on a Pennsylvania highway, causing multiple fatalities.

Deep freeze from the Great Lakes to New England

Forecasters say multiple record low temps could be set this weekend, with the coldest weather of this winter impacting a vast region from the Great Lakes to New England.

Arctic air will be the big story across the northeastern U.S. through Sunday night. An eddy of the polar vortex over southeastern Canada, along with strong cold air advection, is bringing the coldest weather of this winter season from the Great Lakes to New England. Wind chill warnings and advisories are in effect for these areas, along with some record low temperatures. Actual temperatures will be frigid with highs in the single digits and teens, and subzero lows across much of upstate New York and New England. It will also be quite cold from the Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic region.

More Weather Records Shattered as Forecast

Expect Frighteningly Hot Summer in 2011

In Global Climate Extremes INTENSIFYING

FIRE-EARTH forecast:

2011 Could Shatter 2010 Records

The wettest, coldest, driest, hottest, severest… could get even worse this year

Extremes of temperature, precipitation, drought and other climatic and weather events would continue to intensify throughout 2011, FIRE-EARTH forecasts.

It has, and it’s continuing to shatter more records …

United States

• Dulles International Airport set a new record of 75 degrees, 2 degrees higher than previous record of 1981, said a report.
• And “77 degrees at Reagan National Airport. That made Friday the warmest Feb. 18 recorded in Washington.”
• Boston reported a high of 60 degrees.
• A new record high temperature of 80ºF was set at Oklahoma’s Will Rogers World Airport on Thursday, The National Weather Service said.
• Just a week ago, the mercury plunged to minus 31 degrees  a in Nowata breaking previous Oklahoma record of minus 27 degrees.
• In North Carolina a record new high was set as mercury rose to 78 degrees at Raleigh-Durham International Airport,  23 degrees higher than normal for the date. The previous record stood at 75 degrees and remained unbroken since 1948, a report said.

Finland

• “The record low temperature for this winter inched down a degree or so last night. Between Thursday and Friday a new record low for 2010-2011 of -41.3°C was measured in Salla’s village of Naruska in southeastern Lapland, the Finnish Meteorological Institute reports.”

Russia

• Moscow region’s temperature fell to as low as minus 33.4 degrees Celsius in Klin, a 60-year record low for the region, a report said.

2011-2012: Record Shattering Period

Since January, many new rain and snowfall records have also been set, the latest of which was in Down Under.

Darwin, Australia recorded a total of 339.6mm of rain during the 24 hours ending at 9am Wednesday—an all time 24 hour rainfall record for the city.

Related Links:

• Record Low Temps in Oklahoma, Texas
• Global Climate Extremes INTENSIFYING
• Megadisasters Loom