US weather: ‘Siberian Express’ winter storm threatens -20C nationwide whiteout
Fire-struck America faces fresh misery from a ‘Siberian Express’ winter storm threatening a near nationwide whiteout.
As California battles the worst wildfires in its history, the rest of the United States is braced for a minus-20C horror freeze.
‘Multiple’ storms brewing along a ‘dislocated Polar vortex’ will smother the country in a blast of bitterly cold air.
Parts of America will this weekend get the coldest spell of winter so far as temperatures nosedive 25F below average for the time of year.
Weather Channel meteorologist Chris Dolce said: “The Siberian Express will arrive this weekend.
“Bitterly cold temperatures will spread into the Plains and Midwest this weekend and then into portions of the South and Northeast.
“Some locations might see their coldest lows of winter so far, while for others it might rival what they have already seen.
“One more certain thing is that wind chills will once again be dangerous for many beginning early next week.”
Icy winds will make it feel up to 40F below average for late January, he warned, bringing the most widespread chill of winter.
Freezing weather across central and eastern States will dig in through the end of the month, he added.
He said: “Wind chills will once again be dangerous for many at the beginning of next week, and these could range from the 30Fs and 40Fs below zero in Minnesota and the Dakotas to 20Fs and teens below zero elsewhere in the Midwest and Plains.
“Other than a brief warmup late this week, many of these areas will continue to feel the brunt of this cold January pattern as we head into the month’s final stretch.”
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The savage blast will be driven by a barrage of storms sweeping from central and Midwestern states to the east coast.
The assault will kick off towards the end of this week as an ‘Alberta Clipper’ storm tears in from Canada.
Alberta Clippers are fast-moving storm systems which hurtle out of Canada into the Great Plains and the Midwest.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said: “That storm will bring around one to three inches of snow with locally higher amounts near the Great Lakes and the high ground from West Virginia to southwestern Pennsylvania.
“After the clipper storm, the late-week period may at first seem mild-mannered, but there is much more trouble brewing.
“Enough cold air will be in place for snow or a wintry mix from the coastal Northeast to the interior Southeast as the next storm arrives Sunday.”
Adding to the cold will be a flood of cold air from the North Pole, pushing temperatures to the north of the country towards minus 20C.
It spells a double-whammy of hell with western regions battling devastating wildfires as the rest of the country faces the worst freezing blast of the season.
Jim Dale, US meteorologist for British Weather Services and co-author of ‘Surviving Extreme Weather’, said: “This second cold snap could be worse than the first one at the end of last year, and will be driven in part by a dislocation of the Polar Vortex.
“This is coming right off the North Pole, and there will be the risk of very low temperatures and heavy snow in parts of the country.”
Meanwhile, firefighters continue to tackle devastating California wildfires which continue to blaze more than a week after they broke out.
A spokesman for the National Weather Service (NOAA) said: “Critical fire weather conditions will continue across coastal southern California, but an improvement is expected toward end of week.”