Arctic Blast Brings Deep Freeze in US

Americans have hunkered down as “polar vortex” to bring hazardous low temperature in the large part of the United States.

Earlier, authorities forecast a pool of cold, dense air to affect more than half of the US continent throughout Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with wind chills stretching from Montana to Alabama, with reports saying the polar vortex could bring temperatures in the US to their lowest in two decades.

Weather forecasters said with the wind chill, temperature could dive as low as -50C in some areas, where authorities in several towns and cities prompted warnings to residents to stay indoors and stock up on food.

Experts said in such extreme cold, exposed skin would suffer frostbite in as little as five minutes.

The National Weather Service said “Combined with gusty winds, these temperatures will result in life-threatening wind-chill values, noting heavy snow from the Eastern Plains to the Great Lakes could bring up a foot of accumulation.

The Weather Service added the cause of the icy temperature was the relatively infrequent alignment of weather conditions that allows arctic ‘polar vortex’ to be displaced unusually in the far south.

Some Midwest states have ordered the closure of their churches and school as the snow creates dangerous travel conditions. There are flights that have been delayed or cancelled.

In New York, John F Kennedy airport suspended operations for more than two hours following Delta Airlines jet coming from Toronto slid into a snowbank.

Meteorologist Bob Oravec said the weather pattern across North America is set up to be very favorable for the southward transport of arctic air.

Oravec added “its not going to be long-lived’ noting that temperature would start to moderate countryside by end of the week.

Source: Aljazeera.net

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