A deadly and likely once-in-a-lifetime arctic deep freeze from the polar vortex settled in over the Midwest on Wednesday, shuttering schools and causing the U.S. Postal Service to suspend mail delivery in areas as forecasters warned people to keep their mouths closed if stepping out.
Wind chills of negative 54 degrees Fahrenheit were reported in International Falls, Minnesota and minus 52 degrees in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning while Des Moines, Iowa reported a bitterly cold wind chill of minus 42 degrees and the aptly-named “Windy City” of Chicago had a wind chill of negative 52 degrees just before sunrise.
“The heart of the Arctic cold has arrived,” the National Weather Service’s Chicago office said on Twitter. “The combined effects of the cold & winds are at their peak today with wind chills of -45° to -60° continuing. The afternoon highs today…yes the highs…will only be -11° to -17°.”
The cold snap also is causing travel disruptions throughout the region. United Airlines canceled about 500 flights at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport from Tuesday through Thursday, while Southwest Airlines canceled more than 700 flights at Midway International Airport in the same time period.
Amtrak also canceled all trains out of Chicago on Wednesday and into Thursday.
The temperatures across the Midwest on Wednesday were colder than the likes of Greenland and Alaska. A wind chill of minus 25 degrees can freeze skin within 15 minutes, according to the National Weather Service.
Given it's -22° in Chicago early this a.m., we wondered how this cold stacked up with other North American cities. There are many cities in the heart of the continent today where it is necessary to dress as warm as possible if outside. Chicago is one of those! #ILwx pic.twitter.com/3kfs3LpfQ7
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) January 30, 2019
The cold air will continue to blanket the region on Wednesday into Thursday, with some areas possibly reaching a minus 70-degree windchill overnight, Fox News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean said on “FOX and friends.”
“The Midwest and Great Lakes are well into this Arctic blast, with dangerously low wind chills widespread across the region this morning,” Dean said. “Air temperatures are well below zero, in the -10s to -30s for many. Wind chills of -20 to -70 will continue through early Thursday flirting with all-time record lows ever recorded.”
“You really can’t be outside for longer than minutes because your face will freeze in these type of temperatures,” she added.
COLD TURNS DEADLY
The bitter blast blanketing the Midwest has already taken a deadly turn after a 55-year-old man was found frozen in a garage in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office told FOX6 that Charley Lampley collapsed and died after shoveling snow at his home in Milwaukee.
Lampley was found frozen in a detached garage near a snow shovel and had appeared to have had been outside overnight. The garage door was open, and the medical examiner noted Lampley was fully clothed and dressed for the weather.
The preliminary manner of death was ruled “natural,” according to FOX6.
“THIS IS NOT A CASE OF ‘MEH, IT’S IOWA DURING WINTER AND THIS COLD HAPPENS'”
Forecasters in Iowa took the extra step of emphasizing how cold conditions will be to hearty Midwesterners by telling people something blunt: keep your mouths shut outdoors.
The Des Moines office of the National Weather Service said in its forecast discussion on Tuesday that the arctic air will be the “coldest air many of us will have ever experienced.”
“These are record-breaking cold air temperatures, with wind chill values not seen in the 21st century in Iowa,” the agency said.
Forecasters told people planning on going outside to make sure they cover any exposed skin and make sure they have supplies in their cars.
Only 5 to 10 minutes…that's all it takes to get frostbite in this frigid weather. #WinterSafety pic.twitter.com/UUE6BdIRQ5
— NWS Des Moines (@NWSDesMoines) January 29, 2019
“Further, make sure your mouth is covered to protect your lungs from severely cold air,” the NWS said. “Avoid taking deep breaths; minimize talking.”
Read more at Fox News
Watched a TV ‘weather forecast’ two nights ago. All the ‘predicted’ low temperatures were given as “wind chill” figures. Yup, much lower than thermometer figures – but it sure did sound scary. Subliminal propaganda?
I’m proposing a new term: “Cryogenic Detonation” to describe the next generation of cold snaps
Lets see it snow 5 feet or more on these places lets see those brain-dead youths who forced their schools to quit using Fossil Fuels freeze their little toes off in school lets see them try to get to school on their bikes while their homes are snowed in lets see Al Gore keep his big pie hole closed for a day or more lets see these Hollywood Eco-Wackos look at pictures of snow that deep and blame it on Global Warming/Climate Change
“Cold snap” got replaced by
” polar vortex ” by climate changers. It might sound like a new phenomenon, but it’s just a name change that they plug into their climate change dialogue.
Call it a cold snap and AO-C’S PC goons will be on your case.