Frigid temperatures engulfed Texas and other parts of the South on Monday ahead of a rare winter storm expected to bring heavy snow and disruptive ice accumulations to the region into Wednesday, sending residents scurrying to insulate pipes, check heating systems and stock emergency kits.
In Texas, both William P. Hobby Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston announced Sunday night that flight operations would be suspended Tuesday in anticipation of hazardous conditions.
Meanwhile, people in the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine were experiencing bitterly cold temperatures Monday morning as an Arctic air mass caused temperatures to plunge well below normal values with dangerously cold wind chills, while the East Coast contends with a thick blanket of snow.
Winter storm warnings stretched from Texas to Florida on Monday, with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain expected in the region into Wednesday. Heavy lake-effect snow was expected in western New York state Monday through Wednesday morning, with 1 to 2 feet (30 to 61 centimeters) possible in some areas including Oswego along Lake Ontario.
Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland, projected that as many as 70 million residents will be under some kind of winter storm warning in the coming days.
Snow on the Gulf Coast
The colder temperatures will dip into the South early this week, where as many as 30 million people starting Monday could see a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. The unusual conditions are expected to stretch from Texas into northern Florida and the Carolinas.
Winter storm warnings were in effect in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle on Monday. The storm was expected to impact Texas on Monday evening, then spread eastward through Wednesday morning with heavy snow expected along and to the north of the Interstate 10 corridor with sleet and freezing rain in south Texas and southeast Georgia and northern Florida.
Numerous freeze warnings were in place in northern Florida and along much of the Gulf Coast. Forecasters warned the sub-freezing morning lows will pose a risk to sensitive vegetation and exposed plumbing in areas not accustomed to harsh winter temperatures.
Across Louisiana, officials were urging residents to “stay home, don’t go sightseeing” once the storm and the sub-freezing temperatures hit, warning that travel could be treacherous as roads ice up and refreeze in the coming days.
The worst weather day is expected to be Tuesday, when the storm hits, and freezing temperatures are expected every night through Friday, so warming centers were being readied and towns were working to get homeless people off the streets and into safe places. Supermarkets and other stores in many areas have been packed with shoppers stocking up for the bitter cold stretch.
“Things were really nuts with everyone shopping and trying to get supplies in the past couple days, and most people were looking for the same stuff because they want to make something that will warm your blood, maybe a gumbo,” William Jordan said Monday.
A native of Connecticut, he has lived in the New Orleans area for about 10 years.
“Lots of people down here rarely have to deal with the (weather) conditions they’re expecting so they’re getting a little antsy, but overall I think people are ready for it and just want to enjoy the snow in a safe way.”
Lakesha Reed, manager of Beaucoup Eats catering in New Orleans, said she planned to leave Tuesday to cook for a Mardi Gras-like event in Washington, D.C., but flights were canceled due to the cold weather.
Reed, 47, was born and raised in New Orleans. She said it was in the 30s F early Monday afternoon and that near-freezing temperatures are rare there.
“We can barely drive in the rain,” she said. “Last year, we wore shorts for Mardi Gras. We don’t really do seasons here.”
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued a weather watch through Thursday due to the extreme cold forecast, increased electricity demand and the possibility of lower backups, but the council said network conditions were expected to be normal.
Widespread sub-freezing overnight lows were forecast along the Gulf Coast from Monday night through the rest of the week and the weather service warned that power outages were possible in areas of significant snow and ice, which could exacerbate the impacts of the cold weather.
The unusually cold temperatures and storm spurred officials in New Orleans to cancel an event they had planned Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Day.
Return of the Arctic blast
Much of the Eastern Seaboard will be enduring some of the coldest temperatures this winter.
An area from the Rockies into the Northern Plains will see colder than normal weather over several days, with temperatures forecast to drop to between minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34 degrees Celsius) to minus 55 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 48 degrees Celsius) on Monday. Sub-zero wind chills are forecast to reach as far south as Oklahoma and the Tennessee Valley.
Minnesota residents were urged to wear appropriate clothing and carry a survival kit for travel. Kristi Rollwagen, director of homeland security and emergency management at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, also urged motorists to drive with a full tank of gas and a fully charged cellphone to keep in touch with loved ones.
The weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region as high temperatures in many places were expected only to rise into the single digits or teens Monday and Tuesday. Night-time wind chills could drop temperatures to minus 20 F (minus 29 C) or lower. Chicago’s high Monday only was expected to hit 10 F (minus 12 C), while Monday night’s low was targeted at minus 5 degrees F.
Like earlier this month, this latest cold snap comes from a disruption in the polar vortex, the ring of cold air usually trapped about the North Pole.
Santa Ana winds expected to return to Southern California
In Southern California, where blazes have killed at least 27 people and burned thousands of homes, strong Santa Ana winds were expected to return Monday with gusts between 70 and 90 mph (about 113 to 145 kph), according to Andrew Rorke, senior forecaster with the weather service in Oxnard, California.
The Eaton and Palisades fires should be sheltered somewhat from these winds, but more winds with lower humidity will hinder firefighting efforts, Rorke said. There is a particularly dangerous red flag warning in effect into Tuesday, meaning that “conditions are ripe for explosive fire growth should a fire start,” Rorke said.
However, there was some good news on the horizon, Rorke said, with rain in the forecast for the weekend with a quarter to a half inch (0.63 to 1.27 centimeters) of rain expected, he said.
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Julie Walker contributed to this report from New York. She can be reached at https://x.com/jwalkreporter. Dave Collins contributed from Hartford, Connecticut. Bruce Shipkowski contributed from Toms River, New Jersey. Corey Williams contributed from Detroit
Sarah Brumfield, The Associated Press
