Just after America de-thawed from its last frostbite, people are getting out their gloves for round two of extreme cold. The term "polar vortex"- a large-scale cyclone of cold air- made its second debut on Jan. 16, as national meteorologist predicted cold news for North America next week.
Most people became familiar with the term last week when temperatures plummeted throughout the country. The vortex is expected to strike again this weekend, blasting areas of the United States until the end of the month.
According to AccuWeather forecasts, the cold arctic air is predicted to first hit Canada and then move to the United States Midwest and Northeast later next week. "The polar vortex will act like a giant pinwheel or anchor for waves of cold air and clipper storms from the Upper Midwest to the Northeast through the second half of the month," said Senior Meteorologist, Alex Sosnowski.
Although last week's temperature certainly helped to freeze over parts of the Great Lakes, this weekends cold air is still expected to produce lake-effect snow and even colder temperatures for Great Lake regions.
Many areas are still recovering from the extreme weather last week, which stranded passengers at airports, closed roads, and dammed rivers and caused floods. Many states even called in the National Guard and Coast Guard to deal with weather-caused challenges.
But AccuWeather did forecast some encouraging news too. "This next main arctic blast will not rival, nor will it be as extensive as the event last week," said Long-Range AccuWeather Forecaster, Paul Pastelok. The cold air will not be as cold as the last blast that dropped some areas 30 degrees below zero. Temperatures are only expected to drop to about 10 degrees below zero.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
