Deep freeze rivaled Siberia in parts of the US this week
By
Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Feb 17, 2021 9:49 PM EDT
|
Updated Feb 19, 2021 10:18 AM EDT
Frostbite and hypothermia are both caused by exposure to cold weather. What are the symptoms, and how do you stay safe?
Temperatures typically reserved for the harsh winters in Siberia have inundated portions of the central United States, shattering temperature records, creating travel nightmares and drastically increasing energy demand.
The polar vortex dug deep into the United States earlier this week, dragging with it Arctic air from northern Canada into the central and southern Plains of the U.S.
Some of the lowest temperatures measured in the United States this week have occurred in International Falls, Minnesota, which has earned the nickname as the Ice Box of the nation and for good reason. It sits along the northernmost part of Minnesota and, on average, records more than 100 days with a high temperature at or below 32 F each year. This week, the temperature extremes were nothing short of remarkable and downright dangerous. Low temperatures bottomed out at 42, 35 and 39 degrees below zero Fahrenheit on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, respectively.
City of Richardson worker Kaleb Love works to clear ice from a water fountain Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Richardson, Texas. Temperatures dropped into the single digits as snow shut down air travel and grocery stores. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
However, the bitter cold was not limited to the northern tier of the U.S. Arctic air plunged all the way to the Gulf Coast and froze citrus crops in parts of Texas. Temperatures plummeted to extreme levels across parts of Nebraska this week, too.
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On Monday, the low temperature dropped to 37 degrees below zero in Broken Bow, Nebraska. The mercury then dropped to -37 again in the state on Tuesday morning, but this time in Hebron. Normal low temperatures for both cities in the middle of February are 15-18 degrees.
Lincoln, Nebraska, reached -31 at 5:06 a.m. Tuesday morning. That set a new daily record for Feb. 16, breaking the city's prior mark of -18 from 1978. It's also just the second time Lincoln has hit -30 or lower since 1887. The previous occasion was when the temperature reached -33 on Jan. 12, 1974.
Meanwhile, in Siberia, the vast region in eastern Russia notorious for some of the lowest temperature readings on Earth, some villages' temperatures at times were higher than some of the lowest readings in the U.S.
The city of Yakutsk, home to more than 280,000, recorded a low temperature of 33 degrees below zero F on Tuesday morning, local time, the lowest reading so far this week. The Russian town started out on a much warmer note this week with low temperatures of 9 and 16 degrees below zero F on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
On Feb. 13, Yakutsk recorded a high temperature of 1 F, the first time the temperature in the village climbed above zero degrees since the middle of November 2020.
Numerous daily record lows were set on Monday, Feb. 15, across the Midwest and Plains.
The average low temperature during the middle of February in Yakutsk is around 20 degrees below zero F, but it is quickly climbing as spring approaches and the hours of daily sunlight increase.
Villages in Siberia made headlines earlier in the year when high and low temperatures struggled to climb above 50 degrees below zero F. The temperature in Delyankir, a small district located about 500 miles to the northeast of Yakutsk, dropped as low as 73 below zero F on Jan. 18.
A few, more remote locations in Siberia did reach temperatures lower than the U.S. earlier this week. Tunguska reached 53 below zero on Sunday, and Strelka hit 50 below zero on Monday.
A little closer to home, Fairbanks, located in central Alaska, reached a low of only 26 degrees below zero F on Monday. However, the town dropped lower than 30 degrees below zero F during the first week of February. Normal low temperatures for Fairbanks in the middle of February are about 11 to 13 degrees below zero.
On average, Fairbanks spends about 46 days with temperatures below zero each year.
Siberia still beats Fairbanks as one of the coldest spots on Earth. The last time Fairbanks dropped below 50 degrees below zero was on Jan. 18, 2017, when the low reached 51 degrees below zero.
While temperatures in Texas may not have reached "Siberia in the middle of winter" levels this week, the Arctic blast toppled long-standing temperature records and put a heavy burden on the energy infrastructure. In the Lone Star State, millions have been without power for several days now as utility companies and the state's grid operator frantically work to restore power. Record-breaking demand was anticipated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas earlier this week, causing the agency to implement rolling outages.
More record lows are expected to occur in the southern Plains on Friday.
Tyler, Texas, dropped to 6 degrees below zero F on Tuesday morning, breaking the all-time record low that was set on Jan. 18, 1930, when the thermometer reached 3 degrees below zero.
The old record set on the same day in Longview was broken on Tuesday when the town reached 5 degrees below zero. The previous record was 4 degrees below zero F.
Dallas and Waco recorded low temperatures below zero on Tuesday morning for the first time in decades -- the last time subzero cold was felt in both of those cities was Dec. 23, 1989. The low bottomed out at 2 below zero in Dallas on Tuesday morning, shattering the old daily record low temperature by 14 degrees. The old record was set way back in 1903. That was also the lowest temperature recorded at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the official climate site for the city, since Jan. 31, 1949. The temperature at Waco's official climate site dropped to -1 F early Tuesday morning, eclipsing the old daily record low set in 2007 by 17 degrees.
By the weekend, a major pattern shift will begin, and it could bring welcome relief to the central U.S. that could last through the end of February.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, Fubo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Deep freeze rivaled Siberia in parts of the US this week
By Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Feb 17, 2021 9:49 PM EDT | Updated Feb 19, 2021 10:18 AM EDT
Frostbite and hypothermia are both caused by exposure to cold weather. What are the symptoms, and how do you stay safe?
Temperatures typically reserved for the harsh winters in Siberia have inundated portions of the central United States, shattering temperature records, creating travel nightmares and drastically increasing energy demand.
The polar vortex dug deep into the United States earlier this week, dragging with it Arctic air from northern Canada into the central and southern Plains of the U.S.
Some of the lowest temperatures measured in the United States this week have occurred in International Falls, Minnesota, which has earned the nickname as the Ice Box of the nation and for good reason. It sits along the northernmost part of Minnesota and, on average, records more than 100 days with a high temperature at or below 32 F each year. This week, the temperature extremes were nothing short of remarkable and downright dangerous. Low temperatures bottomed out at 42, 35 and 39 degrees below zero Fahrenheit on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, respectively.
City of Richardson worker Kaleb Love works to clear ice from a water fountain Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Richardson, Texas. Temperatures dropped into the single digits as snow shut down air travel and grocery stores. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
However, the bitter cold was not limited to the northern tier of the U.S. Arctic air plunged all the way to the Gulf Coast and froze citrus crops in parts of Texas. Temperatures plummeted to extreme levels across parts of Nebraska this week, too.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
On Monday, the low temperature dropped to 37 degrees below zero in Broken Bow, Nebraska. The mercury then dropped to -37 again in the state on Tuesday morning, but this time in Hebron. Normal low temperatures for both cities in the middle of February are 15-18 degrees.
Lincoln, Nebraska, reached -31 at 5:06 a.m. Tuesday morning. That set a new daily record for Feb. 16, breaking the city's prior mark of -18 from 1978. It's also just the second time Lincoln has hit -30 or lower since 1887. The previous occasion was when the temperature reached -33 on Jan. 12, 1974.
Meanwhile, in Siberia, the vast region in eastern Russia notorious for some of the lowest temperature readings on Earth, some villages' temperatures at times were higher than some of the lowest readings in the U.S.
The city of Yakutsk, home to more than 280,000, recorded a low temperature of 33 degrees below zero F on Tuesday morning, local time, the lowest reading so far this week. The Russian town started out on a much warmer note this week with low temperatures of 9 and 16 degrees below zero F on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
On Feb. 13, Yakutsk recorded a high temperature of 1 F, the first time the temperature in the village climbed above zero degrees since the middle of November 2020.
Numerous daily record lows were set on Monday, Feb. 15, across the Midwest and Plains.
The average low temperature during the middle of February in Yakutsk is around 20 degrees below zero F, but it is quickly climbing as spring approaches and the hours of daily sunlight increase.
Villages in Siberia made headlines earlier in the year when high and low temperatures struggled to climb above 50 degrees below zero F. The temperature in Delyankir, a small district located about 500 miles to the northeast of Yakutsk, dropped as low as 73 below zero F on Jan. 18.
A few, more remote locations in Siberia did reach temperatures lower than the U.S. earlier this week. Tunguska reached 53 below zero on Sunday, and Strelka hit 50 below zero on Monday.
A little closer to home, Fairbanks, located in central Alaska, reached a low of only 26 degrees below zero F on Monday. However, the town dropped lower than 30 degrees below zero F during the first week of February. Normal low temperatures for Fairbanks in the middle of February are about 11 to 13 degrees below zero.
On average, Fairbanks spends about 46 days with temperatures below zero each year.
Siberia still beats Fairbanks as one of the coldest spots on Earth. The last time Fairbanks dropped below 50 degrees below zero was on Jan. 18, 2017, when the low reached 51 degrees below zero.
While temperatures in Texas may not have reached "Siberia in the middle of winter" levels this week, the Arctic blast toppled long-standing temperature records and put a heavy burden on the energy infrastructure. In the Lone Star State, millions have been without power for several days now as utility companies and the state's grid operator frantically work to restore power. Record-breaking demand was anticipated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas earlier this week, causing the agency to implement rolling outages.
More record lows are expected to occur in the southern Plains on Friday.
Tyler, Texas, dropped to 6 degrees below zero F on Tuesday morning, breaking the all-time record low that was set on Jan. 18, 1930, when the thermometer reached 3 degrees below zero.
The old record set on the same day in Longview was broken on Tuesday when the town reached 5 degrees below zero. The previous record was 4 degrees below zero F.
Dallas and Waco recorded low temperatures below zero on Tuesday morning for the first time in decades -- the last time subzero cold was felt in both of those cities was Dec. 23, 1989. The low bottomed out at 2 below zero in Dallas on Tuesday morning, shattering the old daily record low temperature by 14 degrees. The old record was set way back in 1903. That was also the lowest temperature recorded at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the official climate site for the city, since Jan. 31, 1949. The temperature at Waco's official climate site dropped to -1 F early Tuesday morning, eclipsing the old daily record low set in 2007 by 17 degrees.
By the weekend, a major pattern shift will begin, and it could bring welcome relief to the central U.S. that could last through the end of February.
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