A polar vortex will bring “the coldest air of the season to date” to the US, according to the National Weather Service.
The Weather Prediction Center predicts cold air to sweep south through central and eastern U.S. to start the new year. BBC News reports that Georgia could reach the 20s by Tuesday, Jan. 7, while Texas could reach the teens.
Some northern states may have temperatures below 0°F. Forecasters expect the “frigid” arctic air to linger “through the weekend” in affected areas.
A polar vortex is “a large area of low pressure and cold air” that expands in winter, “sending cold air southward with the jet stream,” according to the NWS.
The only threat to humans, the agency warned, “is the magnitude of how cold temperatures will get” as Arctic air moves south, “into areas that are not typically that cold.”
Though the NWS said “should be prepared for colder temperatures” than usual, polar vortex news should not worry people.
The WPC predicts a winter storm for Saturday, Jan. 4, in many of these places. The Northern Plains will be hit on Friday, Jan. 3, with substantial snow in the Ohio Valley on Sunday, Jan. 5 and the Mid-Atlantic on Monday, Jan. 6.
By Jan. 4, experts expect 6–12 inches of snow downwind of the Great Lakes. Over the weekend, southern Kansas, the Ozarks, and the Tennessee Valley might get sleet and freezing rain.