The season’s first major blast of Arctic air barreled across the United States on Monday, ushering in plunging temperatures, snow, and hazardous travel from the Great Plains to the Southeast.
According to The Associated Press, forecasters said the frigid air mass would cover the eastern two-thirds of the country, dropping temperatures to near-record lows — including across Florida, where thermometers hovered near 80 degrees just a day earlier.
The National Weather Service warned that much of the Great Lakes and Appalachian regions could see between 4 and 8 inches of snow, while areas around Lake Erie may face intense lake-effect snowfall that could bury some communities while leaving nearby towns untouched.
In the Midwest, conditions were deteriorating rapidly. Meteorologists said parts of northeast Illinois would experience “dangerous to impossible” travel as snow piled up at rates exceeding 3 inches per hour. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was blanketed under nearly a foot of snow by Monday, while Indiana braced for up to 11 inches and Wisconsin prepared for as much as 6 inches.
“Patchy blowing snow” and wind chills near zero were expected across Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Northern Iowa and southwest Minnesota already reported several inches of accumulation.
The deep freeze extended well into the South, prompting cold weather alerts for Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and much of the southern states from Texas and Oklahoma to Alabama and Georgia.
In Florida, forecasters said the wind chill would dip into the 30s — cold, but likely not enough to trigger the bizarre spectacle of iguanas falling from trees. The invasive reptiles enter a temporary paralysis when temperatures drop below 40 degrees, only to revive when the sun returns.
Meteorologists also issued freeze warnings for gardeners across the South, declaring the growing season effectively over.
“Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold,” forecasters in Arkansas cautioned.
