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Winter Storm Elliott brought record-low temperatures in Montana and Wyoming on Tuesday as the once-in-a-generation storm barrels through the country, causing flights to be canceled, creating dangerous driving conditions, and dumping up to a foot of snow in Midwest and Great Lakes states.
Temperatures dropped into the -40s in parts of Wyoming and Montana as Winter Storm Elliott barrels … [+]
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Key Facts
Casper, Wyoming, set an all-time record low temperature on Tuesday morning, dropping to -42 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking a previous record of -41 degrees set in 1983, according to the National Weather Service.
Bozeman, Montana, broke a daily record low Tuesday morning, with temperatures plummeting to -43 degrees, while Helena, Montana tied its daily record, at -35 degrees.
The temperature in Lincoln, Montana also set a daily low at -49 degrees.
The coldest recorded wind chill (how cold it feels outside when considering wind speeds) was in the town of Malta, Montana, where it dropped to an astounding -72 degrees on Tuesday.
Nearly all of Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas, as well as eastern Colorado and northern North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas are under wind chill warnings from the National Weather Service, while blizzard warnings extend through the North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota and winter storm warnings are in effect around the Great Lakes and Missouri.
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Forecasts show extreme low temperatures in southern states, as well: On Wednesday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) declared a state of emergency, saying the state will see “temperatures that they haven’t experienced in a decade or more.”
What To Watch For
With wind chills dropping into the -50s in North Dakota and South Dakota, the National Weather Service warned of “life-threatening cold” continuing through Saturday. The NWS also warned wind gusts could top 40 mph, in eastern and central states in the coming days, with some areas exceeding 60 mph, likely causing power outages while heavy snowfall in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions could bring white-out conditions.
Tangent
More than 1,700 flights into, out of and within the U.S. have been canceled Thursday morning, while another 2,600 have been delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. The hardest hit airports so far have been Chicago O’Hare International, where nearly 500 arriving and departing flights have been canceled, followed by Denver International (458 flights).
Further Reading
Winter Storm Elliott: More Than 1,700 U.S. Flights Canceled As Mega Storm Disrupts Holiday Travel (Forbes)
Winter Storm Elliott: What To Know About Travel Warnings, The ‘Bomb Cyclone’ And How To Change Your Airplane Ticket (Forbes)
Sacramento And San Jose Break All-Time Heat Records: These Are The Key Record-Breaking Temperatures For Summer 2022 (Forbes)
The winter storm blasting the US is snarling holiday travel and bringing record-breaking temperature drops (CNN)
