Threat level: The National Weather Service is calling the cold “life-threatening” for the areas that will be hardest hit, especially the Great Plains and Midwest.
- In the coldest areas, the combination of high winds and frigid air mean frostbite will be possible for anyone caught unprepared outside for as little as 10 to 20 minutes.
- Already Tuesday evening, wind chill warnings and advisories, along with blizzard warnings and other winter hazard alerts were in effect from Montana to Georgia as the cold advances.
- The contrast in air masses along the strong Arctic front, combined with a jet stream disturbance, will spawn a potent blizzard that will affect a huge expanse from tomorrow through early this weekend — one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
What is a “bomb cyclone” blizzard?
Zoom in: Blizzard conditions are forecast between early Thursday and Friday night from Kansas City, Missouri, to the Michigan border with Canada. Chicago, northern Indiana and western Michigan may take the brunt.
- The NWS, in a forecast discussion, notes the storm will intensify “explosively,” while the NWS office in Buffalo is describing the storm as a “once in a generation type event.”
- Widespread power outages from damaging winds are likely across the Midwest, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and New England, as strong winds whip around a rapidly intensifying low-pressure area in the Great Lakes.
Between the lines: Some areas may even set records for their biggest temperature plunge in a short period of time, with computer models showing the potential for a “flash freeze” as the temperature drops 30°F to 40°F in just three hours. This sudden chill will be accompanied by strong winds.
- The NWS in Denver warns the city is likely to see its coldest day in 32 years on Thursday. And in eastern Wyoming, the agency is predicting wind chills as low as minus -70°F.
https://www.axios.com/2022/12/20/blizzard-cold-weather-forecast-bomb-cyclone