A snowy scene in Chicago where temperatures have been recorded of -7c after arctic storm hits US.
Credit: Pixabay
A fierce winter storm is hitting the US producing heavy snowfall in central and eastern regions with over 35 cm predicted to fall in Kansas and Missouri.
Road conditions have been increasingly icy since Saturday in these areas. However, weather warnings have been issued in thirty US states by its National Weather Service for severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and hail.
States of emergency have been declared in Arkansas, Kansas, Virginia and Kentucky. Many schools in Washington D.C, Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri were closed on Monday, January 6.
US faces worst winter since 2014
The intense winter storm is being driven by a polar vortex. A polar vortex is a winter weather phenomenon caused by a large area of low pressure and arctic cold air surrounding both of the earth’s poles. When the vortex in the northern hemisphere expands it sends cold air south with the jetstream. Severe cold due to a polar vortex was last experienced in 2014, resulting in dangerous road conditions and the cancellation of thousands of flights.
Black ice has already caused several road accidents in Kansas, including one in which a firetruck overturned.
Temperatures have also plummeted. On Saturday, these ranged from an incredible -25 °C in Missouri, on the Canadian border, to -7°C in Chicago.
