من المتوقع أن تؤدي عاصفة شتوية عنيفة إلى مزيج من تساقط الثلوج بغزارة والأمطار المتجمدة والرياح القاتلة عبر وسط وشرق الولايات المتحدة في الأيام المقبلة. يقول خبراء الأرصاد إن انفجار هواء القطب الشمالي سيغرق أيضًا معظم البلاد في برد مرير ، وفي بعض الحالات ، برد خطير.

الظروف المخيفة أصابت أجزاء من الغرب بالفعل ، حيث ألغت المطارات وأجلت مئات الرحلات قبل عطلة نهاية الأسبوع. عبر وسط البلاد ، كانت التحذيرات من السلطات تنذر بالسوء بشكل متزايد. كما أصبح موظفو الخط الأمامي متخوفين مما وصفه بعض المتنبئ

Over 100 daily cold temperature records could be tied or broken over the next few days, according to forecast data from the National Weather Service.

Brian Hurley, a senior forecaster for the service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md., said that the gravest concerns at this time were for blizzard conditions, as well as the precipitous drop in temperature and wind chill expected across several states.

“It’s going to be very cold during the day,” Mr. Hurley said.

Here’s a breakdown of how each region could be affected:

The West and the Plains

The “record-breaking” cold air mass has already enveloped some parts of the region between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, as well as the Central Plains, and will chill the Southern Plains by late Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures across the region have already plummeted to minus 10 to minus 20 degrees, with bone-chilling wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour creating wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees, forecasters say.

In Cheyenne, Wyo., the cold air moved swiftly, dropping a record 40 degrees in just 30 minutes — from 43 degrees to three on Wednesday afternoon. The temperatures have continued plummeting, reaching as low as minus 13, with wind chills feeling more like minus 40 early Thursday morning.

In some parts of this area, the wind chill could reach as low as minus 70 degrees, according to the Weather Service. Without adequate precautions, these conditions can cause frostbite in under five minutes, said the service, “with hypothermia and death also possible from prolonged exposure to the cold.” There is also concern for the welfare of livestock, especially if there is a widespread loss of power.

Brief bursts of moderate to heavy snow lasting an hour or two are likely to occur immediately behind the Arctic front. These so-called snow squalls, when combined with strong wind gusts, can cause whiteouts, leading to “extremely hazardous” travel conditions, the Weather Service said.

Late Wednesday, more than 100 vehicles were reported stuck near Rapid City, S.D. The Pennington County Sheriff said all the stranded drivers had been accounted for within a few hours.

ين بأنه "عاصفة تحدث مرة واحدة في الجيل".