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Brace Yourselves! Wild Weather Whiplash Hits the Nation
Get ready, America, because nearly every corner of the country is about to experience a meteorological meltdown, whether you’re battling extreme heat, bone-chilling cold, or a deluge of snow! From Hawaii to the Great Lakes, it seems Mother Nature has decided to throw everything she’s got at us.
Just last week, Washington D.C. residents were enjoying a record-breaking 86-degree day, only to wake up to snow the very next morning. Talk about weather whiplash!
“All of the country, even if you’re not necessarily seeing extremes, are going to see generally changing from cold to warm, or warm to cold to warm,” noted meteorologist Marc Chenard of the National Weather Service. Former NOAA chief scientist Ryan Maue echoed the sentiment, predicting extreme weather in all 50 states.
Southwest Sizzles with Triple-Digit Heat
A “heat dome” is set to settle over the Southwest next week, bringing temperatures rarely seen this early in the year. Phoenix, for example, could hit a scorching 107 degrees – a first for March in 137 years of record-keeping! The National Weather Service warns this early heat will feel “more impactful than usual” as residents aren’t yet acclimated.
Los Angeles is already feeling the burn, with unseasonable 90-degree March weather sending people scurrying for shade. Shane Dixon, a 40-year-old runner from Culver City, had to cut his usual 5-mile jog short, admitting, “The back of my neck was melting.” He’ll take the heat over the cold any day, though, preferring to “soak myself and walk out in the sun” rather than face freezing temperatures.
North America Gets a Taste of Arctic Chill
While the Southwest bakes, the dreaded polar vortex is making an unwelcome return, sending Arctic air deep into the Midwest and East. Minneapolis is bracing for near-zero lows, Chicago will see single digits, and the Northeast will shiver in the teens and 20s. Even Atlanta could dip into the 20s.
A One-Two Punch of Snowstorms
Not one, but two storm systems are on deck for the country’s northern tier and Great Lakes region. The first arrives Friday, followed by a bigger one Sunday into Monday, which could dump a whopping 3 to 4 feet of snow in some areas!
The second storm is so intense, its rapidly dropping barometric pressure means it will qualify as a “bomb cyclone” – a rare occurrence over land, drawing its energy from the polar vortex. Just south of the heavy snow zones in Michigan, an ice storm is also a real possibility.
Texas Braces for Big Winds
Meanwhile, an area stretching from Kansas south through Oklahoma and into Texas is forecast to experience high winds, with gusts potentially exceeding 60 mph on Sunday night. San Antonio and Austin are in the crosshairs, and areas that haven’t seen much rain face an increased wildfire risk. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has already declared an emergency, mobilizing the National Guard to combat two dozen wildfires that have scorched over 550 square miles of grassland.
Even Alaska and Hawaii Aren’t Spared
Hawaii is dealing with an “atmospheric river” bringing persistent, heavy rain and major flooding, with Oahu currently under a flash flood warning. And Alaska, typically frigid this time of year, is experiencing temperatures about 30 degrees colder than usual.
“This does seem even anomalous from what you would typically see,” Chenard stated, noting that many areas will be setting new record temperatures for March. These extreme swings come on the heels of recent tornadoes that killed at least eight people in Oklahoma, Michigan, and Indiana. While the immediate forecast doesn’t show widespread severe storms, dangerous thunderstorms could pop up “anywhere from the Mississippi Valley toward the East Coast” on Sunday or Monday.
The Jet Stream Goes Wild
What’s behind all this meteorological madness? According to Maue and Chenard, it’s a “jet stream gone wild.”
This “river of air” that moves weather across the country is usually a gentle roller coaster, but now it’s making “near-vertical, scream-inducing drops, followed by straight-up ascents.” This erratic behavior creates “a lot of extremes next to each other,” pushing storm fronts into heat domes, then flinging them north to grab cold air before bringing it back down.
Numerous studies have linked this unusual jet stream and polar vortex activity to shrinking Arctic sea ice and human-caused climate change.
But there’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon: “The first day of spring is 20th [of March], and then after that we get recovery,” Maue said. Let’s hope he’s right!