The coldest wind chill in years threatens most of the US, with unusual snowfall expected in the South

CNN
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More than 170 million people across the United States, from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, are under cold weather warnings ahead of a crippling winter storm expected to sweep through the South from Texas to Georgia, including the Gulf Coast.

The storm – combined with cold air – will bring historic snowfall, freezing rain, icy roads and other major travel disruptions to southern cities, where severe winter weather is rare, early in the week.

The storm comes amid a broader extreme winter across the country stemming from an Arctic blast moving south from Canada, dropping temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below average across much of the Rockies, central and eastern United States.

Across the north, several cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, New York City, Washington, DC, Boston and Philadelphia could go days without seeing a high temperature rise above freezing.

Southern cities such as Houston, Atlanta, Jackson, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee, could also see below-freezing highs on Monday or Tuesday. This long period of cold temperatures can lead to pipes bursting.

Major cities like Austin and San Antonio, Texas, and Kansas City could even experience record low temperatures, with Kansas City facing a potential low Tuesday of minus 10.

This cold will be amplified by strong winds, which will bring wind chill temperatures across the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains to minus 55 degrees, which can cause hypothermia on exposed skin in as little as 5 minutes. Across the Northeast, wind chills are expected to drop below zero.

Denver is expected to have a high of just 9 degrees Monday — a staggering 36 degrees cooler than the city’s normal high of 45.

Dallas and New Orleans will likely experience high temperatures around freezing, but gusty winds could see chills approach zero.

In addition to the cold, much of the eastern stretch of the Interstate 10 corridor from central Texas through northern Florida could see 3 to 6 inches of snow — totals rarely seen in the southern United States.

In New Orleans, where snowfall was last recorded in 2009forecasters predict 2 to 3 inches of snow. The city’s snowiest day ever on record dates to 1963, when 2.7 inches were recorded.

Saturday ahead of the winter storm, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry declared a state of emergencywhile authorities in Texas have directed state authorities to mobilize resources due to the threat of snow.

All areas of Southeast Texas are expected to record temperatures below freezing, ie This is according to the National Weather Servicewith wind chills as low as 10 to 15 degrees. Northern areas will experience a hard freeze with temperatures in the 20s, the agency said.

The Houston branch of the weather service warned that freezing rain and ice could make driving treacherous until dinner Wednesdaybut that overnight sub-freezing temperatures will remain in place until Friday.

At a press conference late Sunday, Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced that both civilian airports in the city will close all day Tuesday — the coldest day of the week.

New Orleans public schools will also closed Tuesday, while schools in the Houston Independent School District — the largest in the state and the eighth largest in the nation — will be closed until Wednesday, Whitmire said.

Frozen pipes and frostbite

Across the south, authorities warned of the potential for power outages, downed trees and frozen pipes due to the rare winter weather.

“An extended period of freezing temperatures could cause burst water pipes,” the Atlanta Weather Service noticed Sunday.

Houston’s mayor also urged residents to protect their water pipes before the cold temperatures hit, noting that the city’s water system is already “fragile” with more than 1,000 active water leaks in Houston.

“Let me stress the preparation of your pipes,” Whitmire said Sunday. “Put your tubes if possible.”

The mayor said he was “convinced that we are about to experience a very severe and dangerous weather episode.”

He urged residents to stay inside, check on vulnerable neighbors and family members and use one of the city’s 24-hour warming centers. Officials are doing “everything we can” to encourage homeless people to seek refuge in warming centers, he added.

Across the Midwest and Northern Plains, forecasters warn that life-threatening wind chills as cold as minus 25 to minus 50 degrees can lead to frostbite if exposed to the skin in less than 10 minutes.

In Minnesota, Kristi Rollwagen, director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, urged residents to wear appropriate clothing and carry a emergency survival kit during the unusually cold weather Associated Press reported.

While winter weather warnings have expired in Washington, DC, Philadelphia and New York City, Boston is under a winter storm warning until 7, where snowfall of 4-8 inches is possible.

Hundreds of flights have either been canceled or delayed in these cities.

Nearly 6,000 flights within, into or out of the United States on Sunday were delayed and more than 1,200 were canceled, according to flightaware.com. As of early Monday, nearly 500 flights were delayed and nearly 400 canceled.