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January is shaping up to be the coldest in a decade as the polar vortex 
dips south across the eastern half of the United States — shocking a 
nation that has enjoyed an unusually balmy end of the year.

“It’s going to get cold, and then very cold,” a Fox Weather 
meteorologist told The Post Monday.

“Based on the latest long-range data, this January has the potential to 
be the coldest since 2014,” they added.

Temperatures are expected to begin dropping from the Rocky Mountains to 
the East Coast around Thursday, but the real plunge will set in sometime 
between seven and 14 days from now.

The plunge will bring wind chills across the Midwest dipping below zero, 
“exceptionally cold” temperatures down to 20 degrees below average in 
some places, and freezing conditions setting in as far south as the Gulf 
coast and even into Florida — though it is still too early to forecast 
exact temperatures.

And there is a “pretty good chance” the vortex will bring with it 
“significant winter storms,” Fox Weather cautioned.

“The prime window for these winter storms would be the middle to end of 
next week,” they said, adding that the southeast could even see snow or ice.

While most polar vortex forecasts are often unpredictable, Fox Weather 
said this round of cold is different.

“This is a very highly confident forecast. Across the board the weather 
models are screaming at us that this really cold air is on the way,” the 
meteorologist said.

The cold is expected to persist throughout January, with relief coming 
once February rolls around.

Such plunges occur when the air currents that keep frigid air over the 
North Pole — the polar vortex — weaken, and the freezing arctic air 
slips south and pushes the vortex down with it.

That means arctic air itself is blasting over the US, while pressure 
changes and the motion of the polar vortex whip up high winds and create 
a perfect recipe for wintery weather.

Cold subsides when the vortex re-stabilizes and drives the arctic air 
back north.

January’s freeze-out comes after December started cold, but finished out 
unusually warm across most of the country.

That duality resulted in temperatures that were basically average for 
December, according to Fox Weather, but in stretches of the west, the 
warmth persisted throughout the month, bringing the average upwards of 
13 degrees above normal.

During the 2014 January polar vortex, more than 20 people across the 
country died from the cold as places like Georgia — which rarely see 
serious cold — dealt with lows under 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

https://nypost.com/2024/12/30/us-news/polar-vortex-headed-for-united-states-will-bring-exceptionally-cold-temps-in-the-new-year-weather-models-are-screaming/