Tag Archives: extreme cold

Polar Vortex heading south: Meteorologists say it’s time for everyone to prepare

Fog covers Lake Michigan

Important Takeaways:

  • Meteorologists are raising alarms over worsening polar vortex conditions that could bring extreme cold and widespread disruptions.
  • So far, this winter has seen one of the warmest Decembers on record in much of the northern United States. Though many residents experienced snow around the holidays, snow coverage was still at or near 20-year lows.
  • However, the polar vortex could bring severe weather conditions, including heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures that could affect travel conditions or prompt school closures.
  • Jim Cantore, also a meteorologist, said on X: “Prolonged period of COLD coming across the eastern USA that will only be made worse with whatever snowpack decides to accompany each shot. The Polar Vortex parks itself over eastern Canada for the first couple weeks of 2025 and allows these cold shots to slide southeast and dominate the weather east of the Rockies. The coldest is perhaps around the Jan 9/10th. It’s been a while since we’ve seen this kind of prolonged cold.”
  • Meteorologist Mark Margavage said on X: “Woah… now that’s C-O-L-D! Is the South ready for a visit from the Polar Vortex? like I said the other day… PREPARE! This goes for everyone, but particularly if you live in an area that is not used to seeing brutally cold air, put together a winter weather survival kit and keep it in your car… Include things like warm winter clothes, a warm blanket, hand warmers, back-up batteries for your cell phones.”

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More than 1.3 million Texans still grappling with water supply disruptions

By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) – More than 1.3 million people across over 200 counties in Texas still had issues with their water supply by Wednesday, but that was down sharply from recent days, a spokesman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) said.

That figure compared with Tuesday’s 3.4 million, Monday’s 8 million and Sunday’s 9 million, or about a third of the state’s population.

A deadly winter storm caused widespread blackouts last week across Texas, a state unaccustomed to extreme cold, killing at least two dozen people and knocking out power to more than 4 million at its peak.

As of Wednesday evening, “33 Public Water Systems are non-operational, affecting 20,689 Texans,” the spokesman told Reuters in an emailed statement, adding that 204 counties were reporting issues with their public water systems (PWS).

He said around 853 PWSs were on a boil water notice, meaning people were being advised to boil water before consuming it, affecting 1,333,134 Texans. Some 1,176 previously issued boil water notices had been rescinded, he added.

Once the current crisis is over, TCEQ plans to examine the ongoing experience to prevent such a disruption from taking place in the future, TCEQ Executive Director Toby Baker told Reuters on Wednesday.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott pledged on Wednesday to overhaul the state’s electric grid operator after a massive blackout left residents without heat, power or water for days.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the flow of power to about 90% of state residents, has faced sharp criticism over its failure to prepare for severe cold. Outages caused billions of dollars of damages to homes and businesses.

Six ERCOT directors have resigned and a board nominee declined a seat in the wake of sharp criticism of the group’s performance.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)