by top line
Winter Storm Elliott brought record-low temperatures to the Midwest, East Coast and parts of the South on Friday and Saturday, while the once-a-generation front threatens to ravage the country with freezing cold, snow and near-zero visibility Breaking temperature records on Christmas Eve.
Cities in the Midwest and East Coast could experience their coldest Christmas Eve on record as a winter storm … [+]
Important facts
Pittsburgh hired record low for the day on Friday, with temperatures falling to -5 degrees Fahrenheit – two degrees colder than the previous record set in 1960.
Charleston, South Carolina, too broke His daily record was set in 1989 when temperatures dropped to 20 degrees on Saturday morning.
Indianapolis, on the other hand bound its record daily low (-1 degrees) – the lowest on Christmas Eve since 1983 and the coldest day in the city overall since 1994.
Athens, Georgia also kicked in Record daily low at 11 degrees just before midnight on Friday, the lowest since 1989.
Casper, Wyoming kicked in on Thursday all time Record low — a jagged -42 degrees — while Bozeman, Montana broke its daily record (-43) and Helena, Montana tied its daily record (-35 degrees).
The temperature in Denver too crashed to -20 degrees on Thursday, the lowest daily temperature since 1990, when the Rocky Mountains experienced a sudden and intense temperature drop of more than 70 degrees in just 18 hours.
What to look out for
Forecasters predict Tallahassee, Florida and Atlanta will hit record lows. Meanwhile, it hit Washington DC 5 degrees early morning, and are expected to rise to just 20 degrees at Washington Dulles International, beating a 1989 Christmas Eve record, the experts said NWSwhen a band of arctic air dips in the southern states.
Big number
More than 240 million That’s how many Americans were placed under winter storm warnings, alerts and advice on Friday — more than two-thirds of the US population. Wind chill notices apply throughout the Midwest and portions of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee. The NWS also issued winter weather warnings in parts of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin, as well as snowstorm and winter storm warnings in Michigan and western New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul (DN.Y.) had warned residents planning to travel for the holidays before Friday or after Sunday.
Further reading
Montana hits -49F as one-time storm brings record lows in US – coldest here (Forbes)
In photos: ‘Once-in-a-generation’ storm batters Midwest and Northeast – 1.5 million without power (Forbes)
US frozen food forecast set to break Christmas records (Reuters)
