Cold rush: Heavy snow ushers Arctic blast into U.S.
A monstrous storm system that ripped across parts of Alaska with hurricane-force winds was driving bitterly cold temperatures and heavy snow into the central U.S. Monday — and bringing back not-so-fond memories of last winter's iconic polar vortex.
Snow was falling Monday morning across much of the north-central U.S., including South Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota, where the snow caused rush-hour havoc on the roads in Minneapolis and St. Cloud and also cancelled school in several districts.
The Minnesota State Patrol says 180 accidents have been reported statewide, with about 130 in the Twin Cities metro area since 5 a.m. The patrol says none of the crashes have been fatal.
At least 150 flights have been cancelled at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, KARE-TV reports. Pat Hogan, spokesman for the airport, said travelers should closely monitor flight schedules Monday.
AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said that Minneapolis should see about a foot of snow Monday. Parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan could all see 6 inches or more of snow in the next couple of days, he added.
Marquette, in the upper Peninsula of Michigan, was predicted to see up to 31 inches of snow, which would be the biggest storm in the city in the past six years.
One spot near Whitefish, Mont., had already picked up over 14 inches of snow as of Monday morning, the National Weather Service reported.
"It's time to make sure that snowblower is ready to go or the snow shovels are dug out of storage deep in your garage," said Jon Erdman, meteorologist for the Weather Channel.
The Weather Channel has dubbed the storm Winter Storm Astro as part its practice of naming winter storms, now in its third season. Other than NBCUniversal (which owns the Weather Channel) and some of its networks, no other media company is using the name, nor is the National Weather Service.
Winter storm warnings were in place all the way from northern Idaho to northern Michigan.
The remnants of Typhoon Nuri were partly to blame for the frigid air sweeping into Montana and the Dakotas. The wintry temperatures were forecast to roll south and east in the next few days, bringing a big chill to more than 200 million people.
The coldest readings Monday morning were in northern Montana, where a temperature of -1 degree was recorded in tiny Harlem, Mont.
Only the Southwest, and South Florida will escape the grip of the upcoming arctic blast.
Polar vortex deux?
"It's a similar pattern," Pydynowski said."The jet stream buckles and releases Arctic air from its circulation over the North Pole. Here comes that cold air."
A swath of the nation's center will see high temperatures up to 30 degrees below average by later Monday and into Tuesday, Pydynowksi said. His forecast highs for Billings, Mont.: 54 on Sunday, 20 degrees Tuesday.
As the system moves south, it will leave the snow behind but not the cold. Pydynowski said the high in Dallas will be 70 degrees Monday. By Thursday, the high there will be in the 40s.
The cold will slowly drift east, reaching New York City by week's end. The forecast high for New York on Tuesday is 63 degrees. On Friday, 45 degrees.
Alaska's Aleutian Islands were in cleanup mode Sunday after remnants of Typhoon Nuri blasted the region with gusts up to 96 mph and 50-foot waves.
The storm surpassed the intensity of 2012's Superstorm Sandy, Pydynowski said. But while Sandy was blamed for more than 180 deaths and $65 billion in damage on the East Coast, Nuri's target was a sparsely populated region involving a few small communities accustomed to brutal weather.
Contributing: The Associated Press