Arctic Blast Hitting Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey
After much of November being warmer than expected across the U.S., that trend has taken a drastic turn, and even some weather forecasters and experts are surprised by it. An arctic blast is coming down through the Midwest, Northeast and even into the South, bringing very below normal temperatures to much of the country, including Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. Now, the region is bracing for unusually cold weather for much of early December. So, put on your fuzzy, cozy clothing and get ready for a cold weather blast.
Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey Weather is Getting Arctic
Looking at Pennsylvania, according to the weather experts at Weather.com, all week is expected to see below-normal temperatures throughout much of the area. In Philadelphia, temperatures will get into the 20s by Friday and Saturday, and while the weekend will warm up and bring rain, temperatures are expected to drop again by the middle of next week. For Delaware and New Jersey, expect the same pattern. For the entire region, expect brutally cold temperatures Thursday, Friday and Saturday, followed by a slight warmup and then more cold. Now is the time to bundle up, listen to Christmas music and do Christmas stuff.
This cold trend is apparent for much of the country, so everyone is going to have to bundle up. “Many areas across the northern tier will start the month of December with temperatures well below historical averages,” Paul Pastelok, lead long-range expert for AccuWeather, said.
The Southeast, Midwest and Northeast are especially getting hit, with AccuWeather’s Alex Sosnowski stating, “Freezing temperatures will lunge deep into the Southeast, and the frigid air will be wind-driven and penetrating in the Midwest and Northeast.”
So, what’s an arctic blast? “Typically, very cold air in the Arctic is trapped inside a high-altitude swirl of winds called the polar vortex, which is surrounded by a lower-altitude band called the polar jet stream,” Scientific American explains. “If the polar vortex gets disrupted, however, the jet stream can become wavy and carry frigid air much farther south than usual in an Arctic blast.” They add that this cold air can bring snow and ice and it’s bitterly cold.
According to First Coast News, an arctic blast, which they say was “coined by the media,” means “a rapid southward push of cold air from the poles, extending beyond its usual reach. The phenomenon is linked to the current phase of the polar vortex or Arctic low within the Arctic Oscillation (AO).”
