Arctic Blast and ‘Bomb Cyclone’ Threaten Weekend Travel

In parts of Montana and the Dakotas, temperatures have already plunged into the minus 20s, leaving some residents unable to start their cars.

In Washington state, on a major interstate highway pummeled by snow, cars and trucks have spun out of control, forcing the highway to close.

And in Seattle, the ghastly weather has forced the cancellation or delay of hundreds of flights at the city’s major airport, leaving holiday plans upended.

With less than five days to go until Christmas, forecasters are warning of a rapidly intensifying “bomb cyclone” storm that will tear across vast swaths of the country this week, likely disrupting major roadways and air travel. A frigid blast of arctic air will also sweep south across the country, sending temperatures plunging far below their late-December averages, with parts of every state expected to experience below-freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve, forecasters say.

“The tandem of bitterly cold temperatures and an intensifying storm system over the Rockies and central Plains by midweek will mean treacherous travel for many locations along and east of the Rockies,” the National Weather Service said, adding that anyone in those regions should closely monitor the forecast. In some places, forecasters said, the weather conditions may even prove life-threatening.

The powerful storm is expected to develop and move across parts of the Midwest, central Appalachians, eastern Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic and Northeast this week, bringing a mix of strong winds, rain and snow, including blizzard conditions, that could make travel dangerous leading up to the holiday weekend.

In Rugby, North Dakota, a city of about 2,000 people 150 miles north of Bismarck, residents were already struggling to start their cars as temperatures hit minus 22 on Tuesday afternoon. Such blistering cold is well below the average for this time of year, according to forecasters.

“The second you step outside, it’s pretty much a slap in the face,” said Vita Thomas, who runs a bar in Rugby. She said that while North Dakotans were used to cold temperatures, it was a shock to have to endure it in the lead-up to Christmas. “It’s like walking into a glass door as hard as you possibly could,” she said of the cold.

In the northern Plains and upper Midwest, temperatures could dip into the negative teens by Christmas Eve and the following days, according to the weather service. It said subzero temperatures could reach as far south as the central Plains, while temperatures in the single digits were expected in the stretch from the Northeast to the Ohio Valley and up to the Great Lakes.

“Combined with wind gusts up to 60 mph, widespread wind chill values could drop to around minus 40 degrees throughout the central and north-central United States,” forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center said Tuesday. “This level of cold can be life threatening and lead to frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.”

Below-freezing temperatures are forecast even for parts of southern Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida over the weekend and into next week, the service said. Low temperatures along parts of the Gulf Coast could drop into the teens and low 20s.

The arctic air will dip so far south that it won’t feel like the tropics in Florida this Christmas, with lows falling into the 30s and 40s over the weekend.

“For some folks, it could be one of the coldest Christmases in a while,” said Zackary Taylor, a senior meteorologist with the prediction center.

“The cold air spilling southward is certainly some of the coldest air we’ve seen so far this winter, and there is the potential there for some record low temperatures,” he said, adding that temperatures across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country were expected to drop as much as 30 degrees below normal for this time of year.

Nearly 40 locations across the United States are forecast to plummet to record-breaking daily cold temperatures Thursday and Friday.

The cold air mass is expected to begin its surge southward by the middle of the week, sweeping from the northern Rocky Mountains toward the eastern part of the country.

Every state in the country, if you count the summits in Hawaii, is expected to get below-freezing temperatures Christmas Eve, said Alex Lamers, the warning coordination meteorologist with the prediction center.

When the cold mass begins to move through, it is going to arrive really fast. The temperature “could drop several dozen degrees in a matter of a few hours, like 30 degrees or so,” Lamers said.

Along the leading edge of the cold air mass, a winter storm will rapidly intensify across the Midwest and into the Great Lakes.

“Snow is likely to add to the pre-holiday travel headaches from the central Plains to the Midwest and Great Lakes as a major winter storm begins to develop,” the prediction center forecasters wrote Tuesday.

It will produce not only heavy snow in the Midwest and Great Lakes but also relentless winds leading to blizzard conditions in places such as Chicago and Milwaukee.

It’s a stronger-than-normal storm system for the Great Lakes, Lamers said.

Blizzard conditions will most likely be contained to the Central and Northern Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes.

Blizzards like this one can have a serious impact on travel, and even just getting around outside can be treacherous because of the strong winds.

United Airlines, which has a hub in Chicago, said that it had already issued waivers to passengers traveling to or from any affected airports Wednesday through Friday. Delays may add up in areas of the country that aren’t just experiencing blizzard conditions.

“Very strong winds are expected to impact nearly the entire eastern half of the U.S. as this large system becomes fully mature by Thursday night,” the prediction center forecasters said. It isn’t just air travel that could be an issue; the weather will also have a significant impact on ground-level travel.

“You don’t want to get yourself in a situation where you’re stuck and having to deal with the kind of cold that we’re talking about,” Lamers said.

While the bitter cold will have a broader impact, “the snow and wind is going to be pretty significant where it does occur,” said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the prediction center.

Clearing the roads of snow under such conditions could prove challenging. “It’s going to be so cold, it’s not going to melt,” he said.

How much snow falls, and where, will depend on where the center of the storm develops and intensifies.

The forecasters are predicting Tuesday that the greatest chances for over 8 inches of snow will be across the states that surround Lake Michigan.

Something else forecasters are watching for is a flash freeze. With the speed of the cold air moving in, if any area receives rain ahead of it, there is the potential for that moisture to freeze before it evaporates.

If the forecast holds, cities on the East Coast, including New York and Washington, are unlikely to have a white Christmas, as the storm will probably pass Thursday and Friday as a “rain event” before temperatures plummet. New York is forecast to reach a high near 30 degrees on Christmas Day.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.