Star Date 28 January 2019 Monday
Captain's Log
Happy last Monday in January! :)
The Polar Vortex is invading the Midwest and Northeast and all signs indicate it's stronger than the one that hit in 2014 (5 years ago). CLICK ON IMAGES FOR LARGER VIEW.
There will be a 5-day blast of brutally cold Arctic air but without any Greenland blocking the Polar Vortex will lift out back into the Arctic starting this weekend. But, we have several days of near record cold for the Midwest and Northeast. To put this Polar Vortex into perspective, we've highlighted previous PV invasions for a few cities like Minneapolis MN where temperatures are likely to dip to -32F making this PV much colder than 2014, comparable to 1996 and very near the 124 year all-time record low. In Chicago low temperatures near -23F will make this event colder than 2014 and 1996 and near the all-time record of -27F. The cold will modify a bit by the time it gets to the East Coast but sill on par with the 2014 PV outbreak.
Out ahead of the Arctic cold front there will be a moderate snow event across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Northeast.
Even the Deep South could see an inch or two with freezing temperatures heading for Central Florida.
Flu is likely peaking but fortunately not asbad as last year.
This week (28 Jan - 3 Feb) for the U.S. overall will end up the coldest since the last Polar Vortex outbreak in 2014 (coldest in 5 years, 9th coldest in 30 years); wettest in 3 years (10th wettest in 30 years), and snowiest in 4 years and 4th most snowfall in 30+ years.
Next week (4-10 Feb) the PV lifts out with milder air moving into the Eastern half of the U.S. while the West turns dramatically colder. By mid-month this cold air likely returns to the Eastern U.S. with possibly another less intense PV outbreak.
Took Mrs. Captain Kirk and her Mom from Romania for her first ever snow tubing experience. Of course we told the snow tubing helper to spin it extra fast as we went down the mountain. :)
Lots of smiles so mission accomplished (see the end of today's video for the fun).
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Have a great week. - Captain Kirk out.