“Arctic explosion”: the reason for the sharp cooling in the Northern Hemisphere is named

In Canada they promise up to minus 50 degrees Celsius for the weekend

Frosts have returned to Moscow after a short period of warming — but not only Russians are suffering from the cold. A “violent” Arctic explosion is expected to bring low temperatures to North America.

Photo: Global Look Press

Canada is under an extreme cold warning as US forecasters warn of wind chills in Texas and heavy snow in midwest and east coast, writes The Guardian.

Forecasters warned that a “sharp” A blast of cold Arctic air will bring dangerously low temperatures to parts of North America.

In Canada, cold Arctic air is being pushed from the Northwest Territories into Alberta, where Environment Canada has issued an extreme cold warning. In Alberta's largest city, Calgary, temperatures could plummet to -37°C on Friday, reaching a daytime high of -31°C. This will be the coldest January day in the city in the last two decades, notes The Guardian. Temperatures could approach -50°C over the weekend due to strong winds. Under such conditions, experts say, exposed skin can suffer frostbite in less than a minute.

The cold front will also begin moving from the Rocky Mountains into the northern U.S. Plains on Thursday evening before moving forward, according to the National Weather Service. to the south, which will likely lower daily cold records in several places. «Dangerously cold wind gusts» are expected in Texas and the Southeast, which will drop temperatures below freezing.

“Temperatures will be harsh compared to the relatively mild conditions experienced throughout much of the winter season up to this point,”” says the weather service warning.

Much of the United States is expected to be hit by cold weather, with temperatures in Chicago expected to drop below -23 degrees Celsius for the first time since 2019, and in Oklahoma City – below -17.7° for the first time since February 2021. The wind chill could cause temperatures in some areas of the Rocky Mountains to rise to -34.4°C, putting anyone exposed to the weather at risk of hypothermia.

Meanwhile, heavy snow storms, sleet and rain are expected to impact the Midwest and East Coast, with the weather service warning of «major disruption» as some areas of Michigan could see 12 inches of snow and high winds could cause blizzard conditions in Great Lakes region. River and coastal flooding is possible in the Northeast due to storms and heavy rainfall.

The cold front will be a significant change for parts of the country that have so far had a very mild winter, with scant snowfall and warmer temperatures average.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed Tuesday that last year was the fifth warmest on record in the U.S., and 2023 was the world's hottest by far.

< Climate researchers have theorized that cold snaps in the United States may in some cases be caused by global warming. The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, causing changes in the circular motion of winds called the polar vortex that normally keeps the cold in the polar region.

As this pattern becomes more “wavy” , freezing temperatures could move south, which is what researchers believe happened during the 2021 Texas cold snap.