Doble golpe invernal azotará gran parte de EEUU con nieve, hielo y frío intenso / What to know as snow, freezing rain and bitter cold heads through much of the US
BY SETH BORENSTEIN – Una fuerte tormenta de nieve y hielo, seguida de condiciones brutalmente frías, impactará pronto los dos tercios orientales de Estados Unidos a medida que el aire helado fluya desde el Ártico, llegando hasta Florida, pronostican los meteorólogos.
A partir del sábado, millones de personas se verán afectadas por nieve de moderada a intensa desde Kansas City hasta Washington, lo que incluye una alta probabilidad de al menos 20,3 centímetros (8 pulgadas) de nieve entre el centro de Kansas e Indiana, advirtió el viernes el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Es probable que se forme un hielo peligroso, especialmente letal para las líneas eléctricas —“tan pesado como el engrudo, y difícil de retirar”, dijo el meteorólogo privado Ryan Maue— justo al sur de la zona, en el sur de Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana y gran parte de Kentucky y Virginia Occidental.
“Va a ser un caos, y puede convertirse en un desastre”, dijo Maue. “Es algo que no hemos visto en bastante tiempo”.
El meteorólogo del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, Alex Lamers, dijo el viernes que el potencial de condiciones de ventisca va en aumento, particularmente en Kansas y partes vecinas de las Grandes Llanuras Centrales, y que las ráfagas de viento podrían alcanzar los 80,4 km/h (50 mph).
Conforme la tormenta se disipe el lunes, cientos de millones de personas en los dos tercios orientales de la nación se verán sumergidas en un aire peligrosamente frío y vientos helados durante toda la semana, dijeron meteorólogos gubernamentales y privados. Las temperaturas podrían ser 7 a 14 grados Celsius (12 a 25 grados Fahrenheit) más frías de lo normal, mientras el temido vórtice polar se extiende desde las partes altas del Ártico, provocando un clima frío, dijeron.
“Esto podría hacer que este sea el enero más frío en Estados Unidos desde 2011″, dijo el viernes Dan DePodwin, director de operaciones de pronóstico de AccuWeather. “No es solo un día. Serán de tres a cinco, y en algunos casos una semana o más, de temperaturas que están muy por debajo del promedio histórico”.
La cobertura climática y ambiental de The Associated Press recibe apoyo de varias fundaciones privadas. La AP es la única responsable de todo el contenido.
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
What to know as snow, freezing rain and bitter cold heads through much of the US
A major winter storm forecast to produce heavy snow, significant ice and frigid temperatures was set to begin in the central U.S. on Saturday and move east over the next several days, according to the National Weather Service.
Here is what to know about the storm expected to affect millions in the eastern two-thirds of the country:
Major winter storm sets up
A large system made landfall along the West Coast on Friday afternoon, bringing rain to the Pacific Northwest with snow expected in the Cascade Mountains, according to meteorologists.
The system will be responsible for the development of a major winter storm from the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic this weekend into early next week.
Snow to fall throughout Central Plains and move east
By Saturday evening, widespread heavy snow is likely in areas between central Kansas and Indiana, especially along and north of Interstate 70, where there is a high chance of at least 8 inches (20.3 centimeters).
For places in the region that typically experience the highest snow totals, it may be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade, meteorologists said.
The storm will then move into the Ohio Valley, where severe travel disruptions are expected. It will reach the Mid-Atlantic states on Sunday into Monday.
Blizzard conditions possible
Wind gusts higher than 35 mph (56 kph) and heavy rates of snowfall could lead to blizzard conditions, particularly in Kansas and nearby portions of the Central Plains by Sunday morning.
Whiteout conditions may make driving dangerous to impossible and heighten the risk of becoming stranded.
Freezing rain expected from eastern Kansas to the Ozarks
Dangerous sleet and freezing rain, particularly detrimental to power lines, also is anticipated to start Saturday from eastern Kansas to Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and much of Kentucky and West Virginia.
Treacherous travel conditions are expected with power outages likely in areas with more than a quarter-inch (a half centimeter) of ice accumulation.
“It’s going to be a mess, a potential disaster,” private meteorologist Ryan Maue said.
Frigid air from the Artic to blast areas as far south as Florida
Starting Monday, hundreds of millions of people in the eastern two-thirds of the country will experience dangerous, bone-chilling air and wind chills, forecasters said.
Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 14 degrees Celsius) colder than normal as the polar vortex stretches down from the high Arctic.
“This could lead to the coldest January for the U.S. since 2011,” AccuWeather Director of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin said Friday, noting there could be up to a week or more of “temperatures that are well below historical average.”
The biggest drop below normal is likely to be centered over the Ohio Valley, but significant and unusual cold will extend south to the Gulf Coast, said Danny Barandiaran, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.
A hard freeze is even expected in Florida, he added.
“The wind chills are going to be brutal,” Woodwell Climate Research Institute climate scientist Jennifer Francis said. “Just because the globe is warming doesn’t mean these cold snaps are going away.”
Weather may be triggered by a fast-warming Arctic
The brutal weather may be triggered in part by a fast-warming Arctic, a reminder that climate change gooses weather extremes, said Judah Cohen, seasonal forecast director at the private firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research.
The polar vortex — ultra-cold air spinning like a top — usually stays above the North Pole, but sometimes stretches down to the U.S., Europe or Asia, causing intense doses of cold.
Cohen and colleagues have published several studies showing an increase in the polar vortex stretching or wandering. Cohen and others published a study last month attributing the cold outbreaks partly to changes from an Arctic that is warming four times faster than the rest of the globe.
more in original source https://apnews.com/article/winter-storm-us-weather-snow-polar-vortex-400452961aa30309a5cf10dfa132c710
Debe estar conectado para enviar un comentario.