Minnesota to Texas: Polar Blast to Chill Millions

AccuWeather | Dec 1, 2014 | Andy Mussolin

A fresh blast of frigid air and bone-chilling winds will continue to expand across the Plains and Midwest through Monday, targeting cities from Minneapolis to Chicago and Oklahoma City.

The frigid blast has already dropped temperatures nearly 60 degrees in a 24-hour period across parts of Montana Friday into Saturday. Some locales went from the mid-50s on Friday to nearly 10 below zero F.
The arctic chill will dive to the south and advance to the east through Monday, hitting areas from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois to Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma with sharply colder air and drastically plummeting temperatures.

Highs near 40 F in Minneapolis from Saturday afternoon are being replaced by temperatures no better than the teens and single digits Sunday and Monday.

In Omaha, Nebraska, temperatures plunged 50 degrees after reaching 66 F on Saturday. Temperatures were hovering in the teens Sunday midday.

Bone-chilling winds will accompany the cold blast, forcing afternoon AccuWeather.com RealFeel® Temperatures into the single digits below zero over much of the northern Plains to part of the Upper Midwest. The RealFeel Temperature in Chicago will hover in the single digits above zero on Monday afternoon.

 "This latest cold blast will not be nearly as wide-reaching or long lasting as the one that hit the country in the middle of November," said AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Mark Paquette. "The Plains and Midwest will be hit the hardest, while the Southeast will avoid much of the chill."

After highs in the 70s on Saturday and the 60s on Sunday in Oklahoma City, temperatures will be held to the 30s on Monday Winds will place RealFeel temperatures in the single digits around daybreak Monday.
Where a bit of rain or drizzle occurs early Monday morning over the southern Plains to part of the Ohio Valley, icy spots may occur.

The chill in the southern Plains and Texas will be brief and generally limited to a day or so.

Residents or visitors set to endure cold wave should prepare to dress warmly and limit any time outdoors. Those traveling home from Thanksgiving travels should put plenty of blankets in the car.

This is especially so across the northern Plains, where RealFeel temperatures will drop dangerously to 20 below zero F Sunday.

An arctic cold front slicing southward will be responsible for the cold wave. A brief push of cold air will lead to areas of ice and a wintry mix in parts of the Northeast Tuesday into Wednesday.

Know when the storms will hit by using AccuWeather's MinuteCast®. It has the minute-by-minute forecast for your exact location. Type your city name, select MinuteCast®, and input your street address. On mobile, you can also use your GPS location.

AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski explains that a fast west-to-east flow across the nation next week will keep the coldest air out of the South but will lead to unsettled conditions in parts of the West, Midwest and Northeast.