Polar express arrives in eastern US for Christmas
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Dec 25, 2020 4:51 PM EST
This is the scene of Highway 81 just outside of Norfolk, Nebraska, on Dec. 23. Whiteout conditions brought traffic to a standstill as many drivers were left stranded in the blizzard.
A storm that triggered full-blown blizzard conditions across the northern Plains earlier this week has directed a blast of bitterly cold Arctic air across the Midwest and eastern parts of the United States. AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that the Arctic air and brutal winds will make it feel like the dead of winter -- and the combination of snow and a dramatic freeze-up will have some locations feeling like the North Pole.
Even though travel restrictions are in place in many areas of the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the weather will be a further deterrent for travel due to snow, frigid weather and gusty winds.
High winds gusted as high as 80 mph, causing blowing snow and whiteout conditions over portions of Nebraska and the Dakotas on Wednesday morning -- and the wintry weather won't stop there.
The spell of wintry weather blasted east through Christmas Eve, reaching more southerly locations by Christmas morning.
By Friday morning, a general 3 to 6 inches of snow coated the ground across the Ohio Valley with higher accumulations closer to the shores of Lake Erie. Temperatures were more than 30 degrees F lower than they were 24 hours prior.
The snow that fell on Thursday night and early Friday morning made for a white Christmas in Pittsburgh. With 3 inches of snow falling, it was the snowiest Christmas in the steel city in 85 years, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
This map shows the change in temperature between Thursday morning and Friday morning in degrees Fahrenheit. (AccuWeather)
Farther south, it was one of the coldest mornings since last winter with an AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature of 21 F in Jacksonville, Florida, 19 F in Little Rock, Arkansas, and 17 F in Birmingham, Alabama.
The temperature in Atlanta dipped into the mid-20s early Christmas morning and can fall to the same level again into Saturday morning. The penetrating cold will raise the risk of unprotected pipes freezing. People who will be away from home are urged to take precautions to avoid busted pipes and water damage.
Temperatures dipped into the upper 30s around Orlando, Florida, on Christmas morning and are forecast to dip near the freezing mark by Saturday morning.
The cold plunge down the Florida Peninsula could pose some risk to strawberries in the central counties of the state, but even areas as far south as Miami and Key West, Florida, will feel the chill. Saturday morning, temperatures could start off in the 40s and 50s in these areas, respectively.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
A few inches of snow also fell across parts of Ohio, eastern Kentucky, western Virginia and the Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina, as well as much of western Pennsylvania and western New York state as the cold air catches up to the moisture from the departing storm.
As the storm departs and the Arctic air flows across the Great Lakes, bands of lake-effect snow will pick up and become intertwined with the storm's precipitation Christmas Day and even Saturday in parts of New York state. Where bands of snow linger for several hours, a foot or more of snow can pile up through the weekend.
The cold air will continue to spill east of the Appalachians and into the mid-Atlantic throughout Christmas Day. New England is forecast to be the last region to experience the winter conditions during Friday night and Saturday. Along the Eastern Seaboard, the greater weather dangers will be flooding and damaging winds.
Flooding and power outages may linger beyond the storm's departure as colder air sweeps in, leaving potentially thousands of customers without heat.
The shocking cold air is forecast to wane by the end of the weekend, allowing for temperatures to climb back up near normal across the Midwest and Southeast.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Polar express arrives in eastern US for Christmas
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Dec 25, 2020 4:51 PM EST
This is the scene of Highway 81 just outside of Norfolk, Nebraska, on Dec. 23. Whiteout conditions brought traffic to a standstill as many drivers were left stranded in the blizzard.
A storm that triggered full-blown blizzard conditions across the northern Plains earlier this week has directed a blast of bitterly cold Arctic air across the Midwest and eastern parts of the United States. AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that the Arctic air and brutal winds will make it feel like the dead of winter -- and the combination of snow and a dramatic freeze-up will have some locations feeling like the North Pole.
Even though travel restrictions are in place in many areas of the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the weather will be a further deterrent for travel due to snow, frigid weather and gusty winds.
High winds gusted as high as 80 mph, causing blowing snow and whiteout conditions over portions of Nebraska and the Dakotas on Wednesday morning -- and the wintry weather won't stop there.
The spell of wintry weather blasted east through Christmas Eve, reaching more southerly locations by Christmas morning.
By Friday morning, a general 3 to 6 inches of snow coated the ground across the Ohio Valley with higher accumulations closer to the shores of Lake Erie. Temperatures were more than 30 degrees F lower than they were 24 hours prior.
The snow that fell on Thursday night and early Friday morning made for a white Christmas in Pittsburgh. With 3 inches of snow falling, it was the snowiest Christmas in the steel city in 85 years, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
This map shows the change in temperature between Thursday morning and Friday morning in degrees Fahrenheit. (AccuWeather)
Farther south, it was one of the coldest mornings since last winter with an AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature of 21 F in Jacksonville, Florida, 19 F in Little Rock, Arkansas, and 17 F in Birmingham, Alabama.
The temperature in Atlanta dipped into the mid-20s early Christmas morning and can fall to the same level again into Saturday morning. The penetrating cold will raise the risk of unprotected pipes freezing. People who will be away from home are urged to take precautions to avoid busted pipes and water damage.
Temperatures dipped into the upper 30s around Orlando, Florida, on Christmas morning and are forecast to dip near the freezing mark by Saturday morning.
The cold plunge down the Florida Peninsula could pose some risk to strawberries in the central counties of the state, but even areas as far south as Miami and Key West, Florida, will feel the chill. Saturday morning, temperatures could start off in the 40s and 50s in these areas, respectively.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
A few inches of snow also fell across parts of Ohio, eastern Kentucky, western Virginia and the Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina, as well as much of western Pennsylvania and western New York state as the cold air catches up to the moisture from the departing storm.
As the storm departs and the Arctic air flows across the Great Lakes, bands of lake-effect snow will pick up and become intertwined with the storm's precipitation Christmas Day and even Saturday in parts of New York state. Where bands of snow linger for several hours, a foot or more of snow can pile up through the weekend.
The cold air will continue to spill east of the Appalachians and into the mid-Atlantic throughout Christmas Day. New England is forecast to be the last region to experience the winter conditions during Friday night and Saturday. Along the Eastern Seaboard, the greater weather dangers will be flooding and damaging winds.
Flooding and power outages may linger beyond the storm's departure as colder air sweeps in, leaving potentially thousands of customers without heat.
Related:
The shocking cold air is forecast to wane by the end of the weekend, allowing for temperatures to climb back up near normal across the Midwest and Southeast.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo