Big Chill In The US On 19th February
The above image from the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory’s medium range forecast model shows the East Coast of the US in
the grip of an arctic blast scheduled to hit this coming weekend.
The coloured lines in the image show temperature contours with each line representing one degree centigrade. The picture
above shows temperatures on Monday 19th February of –9 degrees centigrade in Washington DC, -6 in New York and –4 in
Carolina.
The US has already suffered one of its coldest winters on record and this late February blast - forecast to bring
freezing temperatures down close to the Florida border - will doubtless bring little cheer.
The unseasonably cold blast will also continue to put pressure on high energy prices in the US.
While long range forecasts issued last week (February 8th and 9th) predicted the icy blast, more recent forecasts early
this week (February 12th) appeared to indicate some softening in the intensity of the latest round in the big freeze.
However the latest readout from the NOAA supercomputer appears to contradict the optimistic forecasts.
For more NOAA maps showing the forecast passage of the latest spell of cold US weather click on the links below.
February 17th
February 18th
February 19th
February 20th