At least seven people are confirmed dead from the massive snowstorm that slammed several Great Lakes states.
The storm has dumped massive amounts of snow on New York including six feet of snow on the Buffalo area. A state of emergency exists for 10 counties in New York.
“This storm is an extraordinarily difficult situation, with snowfall that may break records. We are prepared, but we need residents to stay off the roads so that first responders can do their work and keep people safe,” New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said.
“Although the sun may be shining, we are using this opening to clear roads before the snow begins falling again. This is an opportunity to be a good neighbor and check on your fellow New Yorkers to see if they need assistance, but I urge everyone to stay off the road.”
One of the deaths was a 46-year-old man found inside a buried car. A Pennsylvania man was killed when a high lift attempting to free the man’s car ended up pinning him to the car.
Forecasters say that another two to three feet of snow could hit the Buffalo area.
All 50 states had areas below freezing on Tuesday as a polar vortex covered most of the United States.
The National Weather Service said that every state including Hawaii had some point below zero in the last 24 hours. The National Weather Service said that this kind of cold is not normally seen until late December through February.
The National Weather Service near Buffalo said that 60 inches of snow had fallen in their region and that in Erie County experienced four weather related deaths.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a state of emergency for 10 counties who were the hardest hit by the unusual storm. The storm was severe enough that 140 miles of the New York State Thruway along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario were closed.
Forecasters say the early season cold blast will continue through the end of the week.
The first major snowstorm of the season struck Maine Sunday night leaving over 135,000 without power.
The National Weather Service said that Bangor, Maine received 12 inches of snow before the storm weakened and some outlying areas reported more than a foot. A Portland television station reported they passed a foot by 5:30 p.m.
Heavy snow and gusty winds combined to bring down trees, snapping power lines and in some cases poles. Roads across Bangor were closed because of the downed lines blocking major roadways.
Power officials hope to have all the darkened customers back on by Wednesday.
“The utility placed extra crews on standby for the weekend in anticipation of the storm,” Emera spokesman Bob Potts said in a news release. “They will remain in the field addressing problems and working to restore service to customers as safely and quickly as possible.”
Emera had 57,000 customers without power in their region.
Forecasters say the temperatures will rise into the 50s by midweek so the snow will quickly disappear.
Scotland is looking at the possibility of breaking out the snowplows.
IN AUGUST.
A wave of bitter Arctic cold is predicted to descend over the British Isles and bring the coldest wave of weather in August since 1919. Temperatures are forecast to be near freezing overnight and there is a chance of snow and sleet over parts of Scotland.
The high temperatures are not expected to climb about 48 degrees with high winds bring wind chills to well below freezing. The Met Office reports that it’s possible some areas will not even reach 40 degrees during the cold wave.
The normal high temperatures for the region in August run from 75 to 78 degrees.
Complicating the situation is heavy rain that is predicted to hit the islands for the next few days. With the land already saturated from a hurricane that came through weeks ago, the likelihood is high for flooding on top of the frigid temperatures.
‘The weather is certainly looking disappointing for the next couple of weeks,” forecaster Billy Payne of MeteoGroup said, tongue firmly in cheek. “It’s going to be cool and rather unsettled – there’s not much to be optimistic about.”
Summer is just around the corner for the United States, but winter hasn’t given up yet.
Residents of Alta, Utah were surprised with nine inches of snow on Tuesday. More snow is expected in parts of the Northern Rockies until Thursday morning. Meteorologists report winds will gust up to 30 miles per hour and visibility will be less than half a mile during the worst parts of the storm.
“Seeing this in June is crazy,” Utah resident, Jan Frazier said. “I’ve never seen it. You wouldn’t expect thunderclouds like this turning into snow in June, you know?”
State officials hope the weather is a brief anomaly. Local meteorologists predict the temperatures will increase to the lower 90’s by Saturday.
April is less than a week away but many cities across the eastern United States are seeing temperatures that are closer to January.
Arctic air is making another plunge into the eastern U.S. driving temperatures toward record lows. The cold brought below zero conditions as far south as the Alabama panhandle and northern Florida.
The record conditions were as far south as Macon, Georgia, which set an all time low temperature record for the day at 26 degrees.
Toledo, Ohio and Detroit were also confirmed to have cold temperature records.
A blizzard that was predicted to possibly hit New England moved into Atlantic Canada but it brought high wind and cold to the northeast. Temperatures on Cape Cod, Massachusetts hovered near 0 degrees and winds throughout the region were gusting to over 70 miles per hour.
A warm up is expected to begin on Thursday.
The calendar says spring but the thermometers will likely be showing winter temperatures to a majority of the U.S. as another arctic blast sweeps in to start the week.
Forecasters say that temperatures could be as much as 20 degrees below normal in parts of the Midwest and Northwest and 25 degrees below normal in the upper Midwest.
Northern Minnesota cities such as Duluth and International Falls could see high temperatures this week that will stay in the teens and lows well below zero. Cities as far south as St. Louis and Cincinnati could see highs only around 30.
In addition, upper New England faces the strong possibility of a blizzard striking around mid-week. Parts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine could see upwards of a foot of snow before the weekend.
Other parts of New England could see several inches of snow as the bulk of the blizzard will just miss their areas.
A warming trend is expected to start over the weekend.
Forecasters say that another arctic blast is going to drive temperatures in the northeast to frigid levels.
This week temperatures rose into the 50s or higher for most of the northeast with Philadelphia reaching the 60s and Washington DC into the 70s on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, the cities will see temperatures in the 20s.
Officials are warning drivers that roads which have been wet or slushy because of melting snow and ice from recent storms will quickly freeze in the early morning hours because of the rapid temperate fall. The possibility of dangerous conditions for early morning commutes have many communities encouraging people to plan extra time to head to work or school.
A spokesman for Accuweather said the sudden cold after the unusually high temperatures could bring unexpected problems including broken water mains. The possibility also exists that roadways will crack from the conditions and create more potholes than usual.
While not completely frozen to the riverbed, Niagara Falls is putting on a display of winter beauty from the latest polar vortex.
The upper part of the waterfall has completely frozen in the bitter temperatures, creating the impression for the second time this winter that the legendary waterfall has completely frozen.
The water pressure keeps the falls from freezing to the riverbed meaning that under the stacks of ice the river continues to rage. However, none of the running water can be seen flowing over the falls as sheets of ice blanket the rocks and hills surrounding the falls.
Temperatures in the area have been hovering between zero and 9 degrees this week.
The cold freezing the falls is not the only record cold. In Iowa, Des Moines broke a low temperature record set in 1884. Atlantic City set a record not only for March 3rd but also for the entire month of March with 2 above zero, breaking a record dating back to 1874. Several towns around Washington DC also shattered records.
Hundreds of thousands of people across the northeast were without power on Wednesday morning after another major winter storm struck a wide area.
Reuters reported that over 550,000 people across the upper Midwest and northeast were in the dark Wednesday morning and it was likely the number would rise throughout the day as the storm continued to move east.
Up to a foot of snow is expected to fall along the East Coast. New York could receive up to 6 inches of snow and upper New York could see anywhere from 5 to 16 inches according to the National Weather Service.
Over 2,400 flights nationwide have been canceled because of the storm.
The storm is a second blast in week for the area. Last Monday a storm dumped heavy, wet snow over much of the same region.
Parts of the lower northeast are reportedly expecting a layer of ice to form on top of the snowfall making travel even more hazardous.