By the numbers: Midwestern US endures worst of polar vortex, all-time record lows broken

accuweather.com ^ | 1/31/2019 | Kristina Pydynowski

[rktman]

Records have been shattered as the polar vortex unleashed the harshest cold in years on the midwestern United States during the final days of January.

After the polar vortex plunged southward, temperatures plummeted under 20 below zero F from North Dakota to northern Illinois during the morning hours of both Wednesday and Thursday.

On Thursday morning, 9 states in the Midwest and northern New England recorded temperatures lower than the northernmost point in Alaska (Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow).

Biting winds made the extreme cold more life-threatening as AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures dropped under 50 below zero. Frostbite can occur in mere minutes on exposed skin in these conditions.

[rktman]

So lucky for us maybe 2019 will NOT become the hottest year on record in this century ever? Do the accuweather folks average all 57 states to come up with a national average? Was it colder when chitcago was a km under a glacier? Would "juicy" have been attacked by a MAGA ice chunk?

[no-to-illegals]

Winter has arrived

[no-to-illegals]

The cnn of weather .... lol

[Fido969]

Well, this will screw up the hockey stick...

[JimRed]

I don’t know what the record is, but we had 4 degrees at 7:20 this morning at the Jersey Shore; it’s up to a balmy 15 now!

[circlecity]

IN my neck of the woods we’ve always referred to this as “January in Indiana”

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

The Great Blizzard of 1888! and many others.

And before that, in 1804, during the fall fall and winter of 1804, Lewis and Clark reported on how a Mandan youth had his feet frozen in the cold.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

[bgill]

polar vortex = winter

Every day we have to learn a new word.

[bigbob]

Here in the upper midwest, this is what we practice for the rest of the year. No mass outcry for the Gubmint to Save Us! We prepare, adapt, and not only survive, but are made smarter and stronger as a result.

[rktman]

We call that beach weather.

[rktman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was like centuries ago.

[alloysteel]

January 1951 was pretty bitterly cold in southern Wisconsin, as I recall, something like -40 degrees. And December 1961 was mighty cold too, when all traffic in and out of O’Hare was grounded, because the de-icing efforts were futile, and the runways could not be cleared.

[Hot Tabasco]

-13 when I got up this morning. Outdoor thermometer says 8 degrees but the radio says -4.....

It bugs me to no end when the morning TV weather person constantly posts the wind chill, or "feels like" numbers rather than the actual temperature. All to sensationalize and exaggerate the current weather conditions.....

Never hear about the wind chill factor during the summer.......LOL!

[Rebelbase]

Colder than a brass bra.

[Bratch]

Obviously a feminist polar vortex.

[sharkhawk]

-32 by my house in aurora Ill today. Coldest day ever. Didn’t quirptenbreak the Chicago record though

[Uncle Miltie]

Global (BRRRRR!!!) Warming Alert!

[Lurker]

Actual temp in DuPage County IL at 0630 today was -23.

L

[dragnet2]

The extreme heat in the polar region is pushing the cold out of the polar region and into the U.S.

They’re are actually peddling this farce.