Extreme Cold Arrives Early for Most of the Nation

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Category: Earth, Air, Space Science

Published on Sunday, 16 November 2014 18:13

Written by Janet Walker

A Polar Vortex, fueled by the remnant of Super Typhoon Nuri, a bomb cyclone, is pushing deeply frigid air into the lower forty-eight as far south as Tennessee with mid-westerners experiencing some of the coldest pre-thanksgiving temperatures in recent history.

The February like temps, accompanied by high winds, early snow, slush and a wintery taste, are 20 and in some cities 50 degrees below the November averages.

The ten day outlook bring even colder temperatures with a the high only in the upper teens during the morning commutes hitting New York City, residents of Sioux Falls, North Dakota, Cheyenne, Wyoming and even Denver, Colorado as been living in the deep freeze for the past six days.

Balmy autumn temperatures were on the east of the front with all parts of the nation experiencing the last of Indian summer temperatures and within hours the front, fueled by Typhoon Nuri that slammed into the Alaskan coastline accompanied by 120 to 180 mph winds, forced the air through Canadian Rockies and deep into the United States, ushered in the early extreme cold.

Meterologists on wikipedia explained Nuri "underwent explosive cyclogenesis and reached its extratropical peak intensity early on November 8, thanks to the unusually powerful jet." 

What that did was create ideal conditions and as the winds that had nowhere to go and after catching the jet stream,  became the front that drove the cold air Nuri picked up in the Rockies, the high winds, precipitation, heavy snow, and temperatures so cold that any precipitation instantly froze. Not unheard of for February.

As it is the middle of November the records fell for the earliest and coldest in many cities. Denver International Airport saw a 15 degree dropped, not significant unless you factored in it happened within 15minutes. Denver began the day at 62 degrees and it was 37 degrees less than two hours later.

Thanksgiving travelers are expected to have a slight reprieve as the ten day forecast calls for a break and return to somewhat hopefully normal temps.