Several counties across the United States, especially on the West Coast, will continue to be affected by dangerously cold temperatures on Sunday and over the coming week, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Parts of California, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho are under cold weather advisories and are expected to be hit by hazardous wind chills on Sunday, which will pose a risk of frostbite and hypothermia to exposed skin, the NWS warned. Parts of Oregon are also under a freeze warning.
Why It Matters
Vulnerable populations, including infants and senior citizens, are at heightened risk of health issues due to the dangers of freezing temperatures.
What To Know
The U.S. has been hit by an Arctic blast that plunged much of the country in bitterly cold temperatures earlier this month.
Millions of Americans were under extreme cold weather advisories over the past week, when subzero wind chills posed a life-threatening risk to residents of the Rockies and the Northern Plains, and winter storms and lower-than-average temperatures forced school closures in states such as Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
The cold front forced Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration to be held indoors for the first time since Ronald Reagan was sworn in for a second term in 1985.
Dangerously cold wind chills as low as minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit are expected in Camas Prairie, in Idaho, and parts of Montana on Sunday. The agency warns that these wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as half an hour. In the Interstate 90 Corridor between Bozeman and Whitehall, the wind chills are expected to be as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
In Montana, the cold weather advisories will be valid until Sunday morning only, but Camas Prairie will be under such advisory until Tuesday.
Parts of Oregon are also under cold weather advisories due to expected wind chills that could lead to hypothermia and frostbite with prolonged exposure. The south central Oregon coast is also under a freezing warning on Sunday morning.
Such a warning is issued by the NWS when temperatures are expected to drop below 28 degrees Fahrenheit for an extended period of time, killing most types of commercial crops and residential plants. The agency expects the region to face subfreezing temperatures as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit and has warned residents of the affected counties to keep pets indoors as much as possible.
On Sunday and Monday, parts of California will also remain under cold weather advisories, with cold temperatures and wind chills threatening those venturing outdoors if they leave skin unprotected.
What People Are Saying
The NWS Weather Prediction Center wrote on X: “Very cold conditions will continue from the Rockies to the East Coast with a slow warm-up anticipated heading into the weekend. Meanwhile, periods of lake-effect snow can be expected along the Snow Belt downwind from the Great Lakes.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wrote on X: “A storm will pass through the southwestern U.S. this weekend with widespread rain and mountain snow. Rainfall will be mostly beneficial but poses a risk for dangerous debris flows over recent burn scars. A significant winter storm will impact Alaska through the weekend with heavy snow across western Alaska and heavy rainfall across Southcentral with strong winds and marine/coastal impacts.”
What Happens Next
Even for winter, this has been an unusually cold January in the U. S.—and temperatures might get even colder before it is over. According to the NOAA, the coldest time of the year in the country is typically during the last two weeks of January.
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