Winter weather is making its presence known across the U.S. as millions of people deal with the onslaught of a long-duration, lake-effect snowstorm that has paralyzed communities downwind of the Great Lakes. And to make matters worse, rounds of arctic air will continue to invade the country and send temperatures tumbling below freezing in cities as far as the Southeast.
The FOX Forecast Center said the arctic blast from Canada has been sweeping across the central and eastern U.S.
Temperatures in cities in the northern Plains plummeted below zero over the weekend, and wind chills made it feel even colder.
“We have, from the Upper Midwest to the Deep South, those frigid temperatures that are ‘share in the love’ so to speak, because it’s not just areas of the northern part of the country,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Marissa Torres said.
It’s been downright frigid in the Midwest, with cities like Minneapolis reporting temperatures in the single digits over the weekend.
And with an arctic front sweeping through the region Monday, winds are expected to kick up, making it feel even colder.
The cold air is even pushing as far as the Southeast, with many cities there seeing the first freeze of the season as the winter chill moves a little farther south each day.
“So, all that cold air is being funneled to the south,” Torres continued. “How far south? Well, you have areas into the panhandle of Florida that are waking up with temperatures right around freezing.”
Cities like Tallahassee, Florida, dipped below freezing on Sunday morning.
“This isn’t that unusual,” Torres said. “But, I feel like when we get these cold blasts, right, especially this early in the season, they’re noticeable. It’s been a while.”
The cold air has even forced officials at Universal Orlando to close the popular water park Volcano Bay because of the cold.
And it appears as though the cold air will be sticking around for at least the next several days as round after round of frigid arctic air makes its way into the U.S.
The temperature outlook from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center shows much of the eastern half of the U.S. seeing below-average temperatures, with some of the coldest air making its way into the Northeast and New England.