Deep Freeze Will Send Some US Temperatures Plunging

January 2, 2025 by

Waves of intense cold will send temperatures plunging as much as 20F (11C) below normal across the central and eastern U.S. this month, triggering ice storms that could down power lines and snarl travel from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic.

The worst of the deep freeze will be centered on the Ohio Valley and northern Missouri next week, according to Commodity Weather Group LLC. Cincinnati’s high is forecast to reach only 17F on Jan. 8. The arctic outbreak is expected to spread south and east the following week, with Mississippi, South Carolina and Florida likely to see abnormally low temperatures.

There’s also a chance of a severe ice storm from eastern Kansas into western Virginia through Jan. 5, putting the region at risk of power outages. A winter storm will also sweep across northern Missouri and the Ohio Valley. About 6 inches (15 centimeters) or more of snow is likely in the Central Plains and Mississippi Valley north of Interstate 70, according to the U.S. Weather Prediction Center.

In upstate New York, as much as 1 to 2 feet of snow is likely south of Buffalo through the weekend, the National Weather Service said. Northern Cayuga and Oswego could get up to 3 feet.

This month’s chill means the US could experience the coldest January since 2011, according to Paul Pastelok, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. Prices for natural gas and diesel are already climbing in response to the forecasts.

Still, the wintry conditions aren’t expected to compare with the storm four years ago that killed more than 200 people in the central US and led to the collapse of Texas’ electric grid. There’s also no sign of a breakdown of the polar vortex, the girdle of winds trapping cold air near the poles. That scenario about a decade ago unleashed a frigid blast in the eastern U.S.

High temperatures in Texas will likely drop into the 40s F next week, which is about 15F below normal, said Steve Fano, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Dallas-Fort Worth. Fano said the worst of the cold around Dallas will begin to ease up by January 10 or 11 and then temperatures should return to normal through the middle of the month.

Top photo: People enjoy a snowy morning in Prospect Park on December 21, 2024 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Parts of New York City received up to two inches of snow overnight in the first snow accumulation of the season. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images).