Arctic Cold and Blizzard Warnings for 25 States

By Jeralyn, Section Colorado News
Posted on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 06:03:44 PM EST
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Update: I can't imagine two days of this weather.

Temperatures could reach minus 10 degrees before morning, with wind chills as low as 25 below, the weather service said....Tuesday wind chills could dip to minus 35, with the actual lows near minus 20.

National blizzards are on their way, and expected to affect 100 million people. Here in Denver, we're not just getting snow, but arctic cold. We may not even make it up to zero tomorrow. The latest National Weather alert: [More...]

Subzero temperatures and north winds of 15 to 25 mph will produce wind chill readings close to 30 below zero by late tonight and 25 to 40 degrees below zero on the plains of Northeast Colorado on Tuesday and Tuesday night. In addition to the bitter cold temperatures, snowfall late this afternoon through mid-evening tonight will deposit another 2 to 5 inches of snow in the mountains and foothills.

It's already down to 6 degrees here. I sure hope the power doesn't go out and the pipes don't burst. Has your storm started yet? Any tips?

You can check out the latest at the National Weather Service.

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Arctic Cold and Blizzard Warnings for 25 States | 31 comments (31 topical)

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Sunny, low 60s here (none / 0) (#1)
by MKS on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 06:07:51 PM EST

We've become bookend to Hawaii....

ditto (none / 0) (#2)
by nycstray on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 06:15:01 PM EST

not missing NYC winters any more than I didn't miss the hot HUMID summer :) Getting ready to move my sprouts into pots and start another round of seeds. My pea garden is in and peas are starting to come up . . . . really digging MILD year round weather :)


Do miss the change of seasons (none / 0) (#3)
by MKS on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 06:16:45 PM EST

from time to time....

But a quick trip to the mountains can fix that....


: Yup (none / 0) (#4)
by nycstray on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 06:19:53 PM EST

or the desert ;)

Admonition to CAers: watch (none / 0) (#5)
by oculus on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 06:54:41 PM EST

your backs.

Let's see... (none / 0) (#6)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 07:42:37 PM EST

...mudslides, monsoons, drought, fires, earthquakes? Check, check, check, check and check.

Yeah, I wouldn't get too smug.

J--if you don't already, you might want to open the hot water faucets to a drip and open any cabinets under them, especially the ones on an outside wall. Hot water freezes before cold water--or so we've been told.

Otherwise, bundle up and hope that Thursday gets here soon! We have an late start tomorrow, but I get to brave the elements (and the roads) bright and early to venture to the hospital. Joy.

My brother is heading back to CO for skiing (none / 0) (#9)
by oculus on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 08:04:02 PM EST

in March. He was worried about the snow pack!


: I'd be more worried... (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 08:10:30 PM EST

...about those Spring Breakers (especially those Michigan kids, they're t-r-o-u-b-l-e). Darn kids, get off my slope!
We'll be skiing well into June this year--might even make the 4th of July.

: Powder day at Aspen (none / 0) (#18)
by kgoudy on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 08:50:54 AM EST

On the bright side, 9 inches of fresh snow on Snowmass. Just really bundle up!

thanks, just did it (none / 0) (#14)
by Jeralyn on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 08:57:58 PM EST

we're already at zero. For tomorrow:

Highs 4 below to zero. Wind chill readings 25 below to 35 below zero.

I don't ever remember the temperatures going below zero for more than a few hours.


Yep, it is brutal. (none / 0) (#15)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 09:21:31 PM EST

-11F windchill. I remember my younger days up in Fraser when this was pretty much the norm, but it has been awhile down here--1990 or so? Kind of reminds me of Iowa (but it is not the damp cold that really goes right through you). If I wasn't old and cranky, I might even enjoy it.

I haven't quite figured out how to dress so I don't freeze waiting for the bus tomorrow while not melting at work. Especially if I have another episode like this morning where I started sweating like crazy before leaving the house.

Also hoping that the truck starts tomorrow so I can get my labs done and make my Dr's appointment.


: Layers (none / 0) (#31)
by sj on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 02:58:45 PM EST

That's the only way to dress. When I'm out walking my dog I sometimes look like I'm ready for the iditarod.
The downside is that my cube at work looks like a dressing room at a second hand shop.

brrrrr.... (none / 0) (#30)
by sj on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 02:54:32 PM EST

I remember this 69 hour sub-zero cold streak in February '89 as the longest, coldest "week" of my memory.

Didn't have a car then, took the bus. And was working long, long hours. Because of that, it stands out in my memory stronger than the 115 sub-zero hours in '83.


Both blizzard warnings AND (none / 0) (#7)
by Towanda on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 07:51:21 PM EST

flood warnings in Chicago, where gale-force winds will create offshore waves 20 to 27 feet high, flooding Lake Shore Drive and Sheridan Road and more. Even higher than the five- to ten-foot-high drifts expected -- in the city! Drifts belong in the country. Floods belong in spring. This is just crazy.

: Sheridan Road (none / 0) (#8)
by the capstan on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 08:01:55 PM EST

is where I lived in second grade--a little bit down from the lake and the convent there then. Can't imagine it flooded.

Philadelphia - nothing yet, (none / 0) (#12)
by Peter G on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 08:24:31 PM EST

as of 9:20 pm, but the forecast is for a 50% chance of snow by 2 am, and 80% by 5 am, with precipitation continuing all day and all night tomorrow although changing to "wintry mix" (freezing rain). Accumulation only another inch on top of the 15 in or so now on the ground. Warming into the 40s Thursday, so the icy stuff is only for a day before it melts. Or so they are saying.

Gotta love these two-part storms... (none / 0) (#16)
by Anne on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 10:51:51 PM EST

I made an executive decision to stay home last Wednesday, and am sure glad I did...started off the morning with snow that had accidents happening all over the place, and decided I would wait a bit to see how things were developing. While the snow apparently tapered off in Baltimore, where I work, at home - 25 miles north - it continued to snow. While we got a break for a couple hours starting around 1 pm, round two was expected to be worse. So, the great dilemma: go in to work for a couple hours, and risk not being able to get home, or just stay put? I stayed put.

Sure enough, it started snowing again - hard - around 4:00, and things went from bad to worse. People who left downtown around that time spent hours getting home. There were people stuck on the main highway into the city for 6 hours or more, and the surface routes weren't any better. People just abandoned their cars and walked.

We're supposed to be getting some kind of freezing something tonight and into the morning - looks like freezing rain...then, things are supposed to subside for a bit before winding up again, with more freezing rain.

Think anyone who got stuck last week is going to chance it this week? I don't!

I brought work home tonight, just in case...assuming we don't lose power again, I can do some work in the safety of home and not have to worry about getting stuck or worse...

Really looking forward to spring!


Last week's storm (none / 0) (#23)
by jbindc on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 10:21:22 AM EST

It took me 2 1/2 hours to get home from downtown DC to my apartment in Alexandria, VA. 11 miles. Glad I brought a banana for my trip.

I was lucky. Two of my co-workers (a married couple), left at 6 pm and drive home to Fairfax, VA (about 15 miles), and got home at 3:30 a.m.

I watched the local news when I got up at 5:30 the next morning - there were people who still hadn't been home from work who left at 4:30 the previous day!


Several lessons learned (none / 0) (#26)
by Anne on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 10:53:32 AM EST

from that experience, for a lot of people:

(1) make sure the car has a full tank of gas, and plenty of windshield washer fluid, and your cell phone is fully charged,

(2) always go to the bathroom before setting out,

(3) stash some non-perishable food - granola bars, a candy bar - and make sure you have at least one bottle of water,

(4) put a blanket and extra clothes in the back seat in case you have to give up and stay in your car, and a bucket wouldn't be a bad idea for the women, who aren't, um, equipped to relieve themselves as easily as the men,

(5) Advil or Excedrin for the tension headache you're going to get, Zantac or Tums for the heartburn,

And...

(6) if your gut tells you it's time to leave the office, don't wait for permission from anyone in "management!"


: Yup (none / 0) (#27)
by jbindc on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 11:05:02 AM EST

And boots. I didn't have to get out and walk, but heard lots of stories from (especially) women who had to walk, and they were in heels or other dress shoes. Always fun in ice and snow.
I always have a blanket and boots in my car. I had a little water, but I thought I was going to run out of gas (because, had I listened to that little voice in my head - namely, that of my late father - and filled up that morning, like I should have - it wouldn't have been a worry).

Pittsburgh freezing drizzle and hanging in at 32F (none / 0) (#21)
by smott on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 09:39:51 AM EST

Which is balmy compared to the last few weeks.

I have a flight to Dulles Th night, then London stopover before Delhi on Sunday. Hoping the storm will not be still causing NE issues by then....

My colleagues in India are appalled at the cold weather there....down to 40F some days! Highs in the 70s.


Well your Steelers are holed up just up the road (none / 0) (#22)
by Rojas on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 10:08:52 AM EST

a piece and there's a good inch of ice covering all the roads down here. DFW was shut down for a while and they are saying 300 flights were canceled. I'm not sure how this is going to effect folks trying to get into town for the SB. I hope it works out because people will have allot invested in such a trip. If nothing else they ought to be able to fly into one of our more southern airports, rent a car and drive up.

Was in Taipei a couple weeks ago and they claimed this has been their coldest winter on record.


...and for the Super Bowl (none / 0) (#25)
by smott on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 10:26:30 AM EST

...I will be in my Delhi hotel BLAH!! Looking to stream it online at 5 AM LOL!
Not much on Haryana state cable except cricket and badminton, in Hindi....


5 am. Monday morning (none / 0) (#28)
by Rojas on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 11:40:34 AM EST

Probably the beginning of a long work day if your trips are like mine. I suspect a Bud free SB for you.
A little travel tip for coffee drinkers who are going to Asia. Get a small French press and pack your favorite grind. All the hotels have electric kettles for boiling water. You can have a nice fresh cup in no time. That is unless you actually like Nescafe.


: True dat!! (none / 0) (#29)
by smott on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 12:52:03 PM EST

Yeah there's these tiny packets of Nescafe or Nestle's coffee in the room....appallingly weak it takes 2 at least to make a decent cup....and I need more than the 4.5 oz demitasse cups in the room too LOL!!

Got nothing to say other than WOW (none / 0) (#13)
by Militarytracy on Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 08:32:45 PM EST

Last winter was cold here for this region and bugs died back a lot. It is hard to not be overjoyed by that. This winter has been cold also. In February our azaleas bloomed for the first four years here, but not last year. They didn't bloom until March last year and this year seems to be on the same track. I won't be seeing any blizzards though.

Before we moved here we looked up on maps what was due to happen here due to climate change and we found those changes agreeable. It said that it would stop raining all winter long and that has been the case now for at least three years. It is supposed to become less humid here too in the long haul.

Mother Nature is angry... (none / 0) (#17)
by kdog on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 08:16:19 AM EST

Good luck weathering her wrath everybody.

Just a little dusting and a freezing rain so far in NYC 'burbs...we shall see.

I'm a little jealous actually (none / 0) (#19)
by ruffian on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 09:16:37 AM EST

I feel left out. But I can live with it!

I'm in that little green rectangle on your map (none / 0) (#20)
by ruffian on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 09:17:41 AM EST

Not sure what the gree signifies - maybe frickin' gorgeous?


: You just wait... (none / 0) (#24)
by kdog on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 10:21:54 AM EST

till the end of February young lady...mother nature does not take kindly to such trash talk.

I remember (none / 0) (#32)
by sj on Tue Feb 01, 2011 at 08:12:01 PM EST

a conversation I had from Denver with our client in Hawaii one January.

I asked how the weather was there and he said it was cold: 60 degrees. He asked about the weather in Denver and we both cracked up when I said it was really warm that day: 60 degrees. It's all about expectations :)

Aloha.