Brutal’ Arctic blast expected to bring frigid temperatures to North America

Extreme cold warning issued in Canada as US forecasters warn of wind chills in Texas and major snow in midwest and east coast

A “bitter” blast of cold Arctic air is set to bring dangerously frigid temperatures to swaths of North America, forecasters have warned.

In Canada, frigid Arctic air is being pushed from the Northwest Territories down into the province of Alberta, where Environment Canada has issued an extreme cold warning. Alberta’s largest city, Calgary, could see temperatures plummet to -34.6F (-37C) on Friday, reaching a daytime high of -23.8F (-31C). This would mark the coldest January day in two decades for the city. Over the weekend, strong winds could make temperatures feel closer to -58F (-50C). In these conditions, experts say exposed skin can succumb to frostbite in less than a minute.

The cold front is also set to push from the Rockies towards northern US plains on Thursday night before advancing south, the National Weather Service said, likely causing daily cold records to tumble in several places. In Texas and the south east, “dangerously cold wind chills” are expected that will push temperatures below freezing.

“Temperatures will be brutal compared to the relatively mild conditions that have been experienced for much of the winter season up to this point in time,” an alert from the weather service said.

Most of the United States is expected to be hit by the cold weather, with Chicago expected to go below -10F (-23C) for the first time since 2019, and Oklahoma City below 0F (-17.7) for the first time since February 2021. Wind chills could make push temperatures in parts of the Rockies to -30F (-34.4C), posing the risk of hypothermia to anyone caught in this weather.

Meanwhile, major snowstorms, sleet and rain are expected to affect the midwest and east coast, with the weather service warning of “major disruption” from 12in of snow set to fall upon parts of Michigan, with high winds set to cause blizzard conditions in the Great Lakes region. In the north-east, there could be river and coastal flooding due to storms and heavy rain.

The cold front will be a significant change for parts of the country that have so far experienced a very mild winter, with meagre snowfall and above-average temperatures.

Last year was the fifth hottest year on record in the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed on Tuesday, with 2023 being the hottest globally by a large margin.

Climate researchers have theorized that sudden extreme blasts of cold weather in the US could, in some cases, be fueled by global heating. The Arctic is warming up four times faster than the rest of the planet, causing changes to the circular pattern of winds called the polar vortex, which usually keeps the cold massed upon the polar region.

As this pattern becomes more “wavy”, freezing cold can drop southwards, which is what researchers believed happened during the deadly cold snap in Texas in 2021.

Cover photo: A person clears snow from a driveway in Lawrence, Massachusetts on 7 January 2024. Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images