‘Arctic Blast’ Set to Hammer US Soon, Forecasters Warn

A National Weather Service forecast map shows temperatures for Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (National Weather Service

A wave of arctic air will invade the United States and spread across the country starting Friday and lasting until next week, potentially breaking all-time records, according to forecasters.

Officials say the cold air—coming from Siberia—will plunge the eastern two-thirds of the United States into a freeze in the days ahead of Christmas.

“By early next week, the atmospheric energy bringing the cold will dive south out of the Gulf of Alaska and into the Pacific Northwest,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said on the website. The air will then pass through Rocky Mountain states and Midwest states on Monday and Tuesday before spreading to the east.

Some areas, including the Dakotas and Montana, will see temperatures of 30 degrees below zero F, the forecaster warned.

“This could be one of the most extreme air masses that is observed all winter across portions of the north-central U.S.,” Buckingham stated. “I would not be surprised to see some areas in Montana or North Dakota approach 30 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, which would come close to some of the extreme cold observed back in 1983 and 1989.”

Parts of northern Texas, a state that saw power grid failures about two years ago, will fall to 25 degrees F by late Friday, according to the National Weather Service and other forecasters.

A more severe weather forecast was posted by meteorologist Ryan Maue, who warned on Twitter: “Next Thursday, dangerously cold air extends from Canada to Texas up to 58°F below normal. Friday morning actual temperatures in Texas in the teens but no precipitation expected. Very dry.”

Judah Cohen, the head of seasonal forecasting at AER, told Axios this week that around the Christmas holiday, “one of the coldest Arctic outbreaks in December in years” may occur.

Texas power grid operator ERCOT told Fox4 that it’s ready for the arctic blast.

Houston-based natural gas research firm Criterion Research warned clients of possible freezes next week. Especially cold weather is sure to drive up natural gas prices even more.

Criterion said that “Midland, Texas, will post average temperatures below freezing for multiple days, with nightly lows of 20 degrees and daily highs just above the freeze line,” according to OilPrice.com.