For about a week, this web site has been warning folks of a Polar Vortex traveling down into the USA from the North Pole. Now, it's happening. Wind Driven Snow has shut electricity in Montana, five FEET of snow has fallen in South Dakota, wind chills in Wyoming hit -70° F, and winds are gusting to 60 MPH.
As this story is written at 7:28 AM eastern US time on Thursday, 22 December 2022, the video below was published by a Wyoming State Trooper, from his police car, near Cheyenne/ This is what it's like out there right now:
Current view from a Troopers car in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Current conditions outside of Cheyenne are -18 with zero visibility.
— James Spann (@spann) December 22, 2022
Video from Wyoming Highway Patrol pic.twitter.com/TTa7PsrSG6
This is a "White Out." Snow is falling so heavily, and wind is blowing it so fiercely, he cannot even see the road in front of his own car! ! !
In Montana, one homeowner was able to send this video before electric finally went out up there:
MONTANA -- The winter storm of the decade has arrived. Wind chills are expected to go to as low as -55, with lows around -30.pic.twitter.com/sWBGiHfGxm
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) December 22, 2022
In South Dakota, once the ferocious storm has wound down, five feet of snow was left for people in that state:
The rest of us in the United States are heading into SIMILAR brutal storm conditions and deadly cold temperatures as seen on this 15 second weather graphic:
Brace yourself.
— Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) December 21, 2022
One of the most brutal Arctic cold outbreaks on record is gathering momentum and moving through North America right now.
Wind chills are hitting extremely dangerous levels of -70°F (-57°C) in Wyoming. pic.twitter.com/tqC2lZJqAl
Readers in the rest of the United States, have precious little time to make certain you have food, water, medicine, fuel for a generator and plenty of warm clothes and blankets. The Polar Vortex is already in the country and moving to the southeast. Hour-by-hour temperatures will plummet.
Here at my second home in northeastern Pennsylvania, weather forecasters are telling us the High temperature today will be about 42. Tomorrow, I will awaken to forty eight degrees, BUT BY MIDNIGHT THE TEMPERATURE HERE WILL BE ONLY SEVEN (7°F). Yes, you read that correctly. Temperatures here in northeastern Pennsylvania will drop from 48 to 7 in one day.
The kind of wind necessary to achieve that level of temperature drop, is enormous. Power lines will likely be taken out by falling trees. And while we here in PA will initially get rain, it will change to snow at some point. Accumulation amounts are just not known.
Prepare right now. You're out of time.
