The Midwest caught a short break from the icy winter conditions that have gripped the region for months now. But that has ended today as a massive cold front has moved into the region. Folks on the East Coast can look forward to this fast-moving arctic blast arriving in the next few days. Temperatures in the Midwest have plummeted very rapidly, accompanied by extremely high winds with gusts as high as 70mph recorded in a number of places. The wind chill is brutal out there right now.
A temporary warm surge in the East will quickly be replaced by frigid temperatures as a potent low pressure system in the Midwest moves to the east today. The clash of rain and the cold air mass in the East this morning has produced a dangerous mix of rain and ice.
Warm air on Monday pushed north into the Plains and Midwest ahead of a cold front descending from Canada. Storm-related watches, warnings and advisories are in effect today across virtually all of the country east of the Rockies.
The Severe Weather Center lists wind advisories that spread from the Rockies across the central and southern Plains to the East Coast, as well as the winter weather and storm advisories in effect today across the northern Plains and the Midwest.
There were record temperatures set Monday in the Plains and Midwest, while strong winds along and behind the cold front created dangerous RealFeel® temperatures. The morning low temperature on Monday in Rapid City, S.D., was 44 degrees. Roughly 350 miles to the north, in Williston, N.D., the RealFeel® temperature on Monday plunged to -46 degrees.
To the west, massive snowfalls are wreaking havoc:
BOISE, Idaho – Heavy snow pummeled Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Washington, leaving thousands without power, causing widespread havoc on roads and even overwhelming one ski resort.
The snowfall led to the collapse Monday of several roofs at businesses in northern Idaho, while avalanches forced the evacuations of dozens of homes. There were no injuries.About 20 inches of snow fell around Coeur d'Alene. "They got clobbered," John Livingston, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said of residents in that northern city.
The storm system arrived from California and combined with another emerging from the Gulf of Alaska, stalling over eastern Washington and northern Idaho, said Livingston.
Forecasters predicted a new storm could roll in on Tuesday, bringing another 1 to 3 inches of snow in low-lying areas of Idaho and 2 to 4 inches in the mountains.
The snow closed Coeur d'Alene schools on Monday, marking the first time since November 1996 that the city's schools closed because of a winter storm, officials said. School districts canceled classes in several other communities.
In China, the country is in serious trouble, so much so that China's premier, Wen Jiabao actually picked up a bullhorn to try to quiet furious, stranded travelers.
BEIJING (AFP) – Premier Wen Jiabao rushed Tuesday to oversee disaster relief as China buckled under its harshest winter for half a century, which has affected tens of millions of people and paralysed many areas.
The heavy snowfalls and freezing temperatures across China have left around 50 dead, ravaged power supplies and hit millions of people trying to go home for the main holiday of the year.A total of 77.9 million people have been affected by the weather which has covered a swathe of China stretching from Xinjiang in the northwest to Fujian in the southeast, various state newspapers reported.
Wen travelled to Changsha, capital of central Hunan province which has been particularly badly hit, where he met senior officials, chatted with travellers at the train station and inspected repair work on power lines downed by the weight of ice.
"First of all we need to get the electricity running, then it won't take much time for everyone to be able to go home and pass the Lunar New Year," Wen said over a megaphone as crowds gathered at the train station applauded, state television reported.
His journey underlined the extent of the problem — he flew out of Beijing on Monday but had to land at an airport in the neighbouring province of Hubei, finally reaching Changsha by train.
Still more about the wild winter weather at ICECAP.
