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California could very well burn again but it’s snowing in Florida, and there is Arctic cold in parts of the US Upper Midwest.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) says Arctic air is bringing snow, deep cold and freezing rain to the US South and South-East.
At the same time, southern California is facing an extreme fire risk.
The NWS says an Arctic air mass high pressure system is lowering temperatures 25 to 30 degrees below average from parts of the Mid-Atlantic to the Central Gulf Coast.
The system will create widespread sub-freezing overnight lows along the Gulf Coast and throughout the southeast and worsen power outages, it says.
States like Texas and Louisiana, which normally do not experience winter chills, are not seeing snow.
The weather service says the arctic air system covering the eastern two-thirds of the US will persist with only a slow return to normal temperatures later in the week.
“Multiple record low temperatures are possible through mid-week, especially across the Gulf Coast and portions of the South-East,” the service says.
The NWW says -30 to -50 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 to -45 degrees Celsius) wind chills are seeping across the Dakotas and Upper Midwest, posing an extreme risk of hypothermia and frostbite.
The weather service also warns travel conditions are rapidly deteriorating across parts of the Gulf Coast due to a major winter storm.
“Impactful winter weather, including heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain will continue to spread eastward from parts of the Florida panhandle through the eastern Carolinas,” it warns.
The NWS says major highway and air traffic disruptions, including road closures and flight cancellations, may continue for several days after the snow stops falling.
More than 2200 flights in the US were reportedly cancelled with another 3000 delayed, BBC News reports.
There will be localised power outages and tree damage likely in areas with the heaviest
Icing as 0.10 inches of freezing rain is due to develop across northeastern Florida and southeastern Georgia.
A clipper system moving across the Upper Great Lakes into Eastern Canada later this week is likely to produce lake-effect snow downwind from the Great Lakes, the weather service.
CALIFORNIA
“Intense high pressure over parts of the Northern Intermountain Region and Great Basin will set up Santa Ana winds over Southern California,” the service says.
An extreme fire risk alert has been issued to parts of southern California with winds of 32 to 20 to 64kmh, and stronger, expected.
“It’s terrain with low, relative humidity and dry fuels contributed to the dangerous conditions,” the NWS says.
