Big, bad Bozeman is barreling eastward bringing ice, sleet and snow to the Ohio Valley today. The system has been wreaking havoc since last Thursday dropping considerable amounts of precipitation and bringing freezing temperatures to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, northern Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and of course, Bozeman. Over the weekend numerous traffic fatalities were reported across the country as a result of this nasty system and things are not looking much better today with flight delays, school closures and slick roadways across the region which are making for a treacherous Monday morning commute.
Icy temperatures will prevail for much of the week, in fact, according to Tom Moore, a coordinating meteorologist for the Weather Channel, “By Tuesday, the whole eastern half of the United States will have temperatures from 15 to 30 degrees below average.” Gah.
Why so Chilly? Well, thanks to a blocking high pressure over eastern Alaska and Canada, a frozen pipeline of cold air from Siberia is drifting towards the North Pole and then sinking further southward into Canada and the U.S.- bringing uber-cold temperatures to the lower 48, especially the Plains and Midwest.
The good news is that some relief from the bitter cold may be on the way towards the end of the week as this latest arctic cold surge moves out.
