Nation Faces Days Of Extreme Cold, And Huge Winter Storm Of Ice And Snow (Vermont Forecast Included)

Huge area in red on this map is expected to be affected
by a massive winter storm this weekend. 

The next several days will be peak winter across most of the United States.

And downright dangerous. 

Most of the northern tier of the United States from North Dakota to New England is in for intense cold. In northern Minnesota, wind chills could drop into the mid 50s below zero.  

Even worse, a massive winter storm is taking shape. It'll extend from eastern New Mexico, , through the southern and central Great Plains, then across  much of the South and the eastern United States.

The placement of who gets the worst of it is still a little in question, but the area affected will be massive. 

A large area across the South is expecting a crippling ice storm. Those most affected will endure possibly days-long power outages and severe tree damage. To the north of the ice, snow accumulation in some areas might be measured in feet, not inches. 

People across the South away from the immediate Gulf Coast are being told to stock up on food and supplies, just in case. 

The storm won't really start until Friday, but the warnings are already sounding pretty dire. Ryan Maue, a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Associated Press that the storm could be a "widespread potentially catastrophic event from Texas to the Carolinas....I don't know how people are going to deal with it."

The odd thing is this won't be a huge, strong low pressure system causing the problem. Instead, a massive blob of heavy, frigid Arctic air will press down into the southern United States. Then, a wet flow of warm, lighter, humid air will glide over this bitter cold air. The rising air will unleash a barrage of snow and freezing rain onto the millions of southerners shivering on the ground below. 

The storm will likely consolidate and finally grow stronger near the East Coast toward Sunday night. 

New Mexico and Texas will be hit first on Friday, then everything will spread eastward and eventually somewhat northward through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. 

This could easily become the first weather disaster of the year costing $1 billion or more. We'll have much more on this over the next several days as the storm develops.  

VERMONT IMPACTS

A classic cold winter afternoon sky yesterday over
St. Albans, Vermont. By this weekend, we'll
REALLY be shivering in subzero cold. 

Frankly, we're in for some miserable midwinter weather in Vermont, but overall, we're lucky.

We won't be nearly as cold as places like Minnesota. That massive storm should either give us a slight glancing blow, or not affect us at all.  

But we have a bit of snow in the forecast, some wind, and eventually that bitter cold air. Even when the chill eases off a bit toward the beginning of next week, we'll be mostly on the colder than normal side  right into February. Possibly through most of February. 

A series of weak weather fronts will harass us today through Friday. A lame warm front today will spread light snow through most of Vermont this afternoon and evening. Almost everyone will see an inch or less of accumulation. The mountains, as always, could pick up a bit more than that.

But even that little bit will probably make the roads a little iffy for the drive home from work this evening. 

The warm front will bring temperatures to the low 20s this afternoon, then those readings will hold steady tonight. In the Champlain Valley. Temperatures will actually slowly warm up overnight as south winds gust to 40 mph or even a bit more. 

Enjoy tomorrow, as it will be the last warm-ish day for quite awhile. Highs should briefly reach the low or even mid 30s in a few spots. A cold front coming at us will probably set off more afternoon and evening snow showers. A few spots away from the Champlain Valley might even see a brief snow squall. 

Once again, though, most places will see an inch or less, with - as always - a little more in the mountains. Like today, tomorrow's snow showers could once again make your drive home from work or school tomorrow afternoon a little annoying.

Thursday's cold front won't introduce us to the super cold air. It'll only get a little chillier. Another cold front on Friday will be the one to make us absolutely miserable. 

The first half of Friday should be OK, with temperatures within a few degrees either side of 20. But the wind will pick up and the temperature will fall all afternoon. Wind chill alerts will probably be issued starting later Friday and going through much of the weekend. 

We'll start the day with subzero temperatures Saturday morning, and those of us who get above zero Saturday afternoon will be the lucky ones.

Saturday night will be super cold. Early guesses are teens below zero. That's not even close to record cold territory, but it's much worse than what we've gotten used to. Clouds from that massive storm in the south might - again if we're lucky - keep us from getting even colder.

That huge storm is forecast to pass far to our south Sunday night. An early guess has it heading off the coast around Delaware.  Some of the forecast models are suggesting a little snow could make it all the way north into Vermont Sunday night despite our great distance from the storm. 

That moisture will be battling the very dry, cold air over us, so I'm still dubious as to whether we'll get any snow. I'll keep an open mind, though. 

It'll probably stay cold through next week and probably beyond, but it won't be quite as bad as what we'll deal with this coming weekend.