by Andrew Freeman
January 12, 2024
Introduction:
Read more here: https://www.axios.com/2024/01/12/weath ... r-vortex(Axios) A rapidly intensifying storm that could be one of the most intense on record for the Midwest in January is helping to prompt watches and warnings for the entire Lower 48 states on Friday.
Threat level: The storm's hazards are multifaceted, from "life-threatening" blizzard conditions in Iowa to powerful winds that may cause damage in at least a dozen states.
• Conditions in Iowa have disrupted campaigning as all eyes are on turnout ahead of Monday's caucuses.
• In addition, more rounds of severe thunderstorms with possible tornadoes are likely Friday and Saturday across the Southeast, with flooding rains along the East Coast.
Details: The storm, which will reach its maximum intensity over Michigan this weekend — causing waves on the Great Lakes to reach or exceed 20 feet — will help accelerate a push of Arctic air south and southeastward from Montana to the Gulf Coast.
• This frigid air, which is tied to the configuration of the polar vortex in upper levels of the atmosphere, will be the coldest air many Americans have experienced in several years.
• On Friday morning, temperatures bottomed out at minus 52°F in Edmonton, Alberta, indicating the significance of the frigid air charging southward.
Watches, warnings and advisories issued by the NWS across the U.S. on Friday morning.
Image: NOAA/NWS.
For legend guide see this link: https://www.weather.gov/