Post date: Jan 05, 2014 1:21:46 PM
After snow, U.S. Midwest and Northeast brace for Arctic blast expected to bring record low temperatures.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 4, 2014) (NBC) - Frigid temperatures gripped a wide swath of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast on Saturday (January 4), as the regions dug out from a deadly snowstorm and braced for another blast of dangerous winter weather.
Starting Sunday (January 5), the deep freeze will be felt in the northern U.S. plains, including North andSouth Dakota, and through the Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley, according to the National Weather Service.It will be some of the coldest weather to grip the region in two decades, with blizzard conditions expected in the Central Plains and Great Lakes regions, forecasters said.
This push of Arctic air could bring record low temperatures in areas from Montana to Michigan, and move to the Northeast where it will arrive by early Tuesday (January 7), forecasters said.
"Incredibly, it may feel as cold as negative 50 to negative 60 (minus 45 to minus 51 Celsius) on Sunday night over sections of the north-central states," including Minnesota and Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said in a statement.
In those conditions, frostbite can set in on exposed skin within five minutes, forecasters warned.
Preparing for the dangerous weather, officials in several states asked residents to use extra precautions when outdoors.
In a rare move, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has ordered all public schools in the state closed on Monday (January 6) to protect children from dangerously cold weather.
In Indianapolis, Indiana, shoppers stocked up on supplies in advance of the expected heavy snow and bitter cold. Some shelves were stripped bare.
The storm comes on the heels of a massive winter weather system that slammed the U.S. Midwest and Northeast just after New Year's Day, causing several deaths, grounding thousands of flights and forcing schools and government offices to close.
A total of 1,266 flights were canceled across the United States and 6,036 flights delayed on Saturday, with Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey among the most affected, according to tracking firm FlightAware.com.
Flight delays and baggage claim nightmares continued to plague Southwest Airlines operations atChicago Midway International Airport. The airline has canceled hundreds of flights since late Thursday (January 2) when the storm was at its peak.
In Green Bay, Wisconsin, the temperature plummeted to -18 degrees Fahrenheit (-28 C) on Friday (January 3), breaking a record for the date set in 1979, according to the National Weather Service.
This week's weather system left the Green Bay Packers' stadium field and seating covered in snow, leading the team to invite fans to help clean up up the stands before Sunday's NFL wild card playoff game against the San Francisco Giants. About two hundred fans turned up at Lambeau Field on Friday to shovel snow and salt and sand the seating area.
With the new frigid air moving in, the Packers-Giants game was expected to rank among the coldest matches on record, local officials said.
Some 40,000 tickets to the game have been sold, according to the Packers team.