'Bering Bomb' Superstorm Sends Temperatures Plunging: Explosive Storm -More Powerful than Hurricane Sandy-Hits US
First Snow Due Across Huge Swathes of U.S. as Massive Winter Storm over Alaska Pushes Cold Air South
- Flurries expected today in Maine, Vermont and upstate New York
- Snowstorms will become more widespread over the next week
- Daytime temperatures below freezing set for much of New England
- Follows winter typhoon over Alaska moving frigid weather system south
- So-called 'Bering Bomb' recorded sharp drop in pressure over weekend
9 November 2014
Flurries are expected in Maine, Vermont, New York state and parts of Pennsylvania, with snowfall reaching as far south as Virginia by the end of the week, accompanied by freezing temperatures. The weather system is in part a consequence of Typhoon Nuri (pictured), which sucked polar air from Alaska and is contributing to an onrush of wintry weather in the contiguous United States. The weather map to the top-right shows the difference between normal November temperatures and those predicted next week, with some parts of the country 20 degrees colder than normal.
Temperatures are set to plummet in the coming days, with temperatures below freezing across much of the north-eastern U.S. by Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Frigid storm: The remnants of Typhoon Nuri, which struck Alaska over the past few days, is contribtuing to a cold weather system which will chill the United States in the week to come
Snow today: The above map shows snowfall predictions (in blue) for Sunday November 9 across the U.S., with storms set to hit Wyoming, and the Dakotas in the center of the country, with storms in Wisconsin, northern Michigan, and scattered snowfall in upstate New York, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and even parts of Pennsylvania
Expanding: A map for tomorrow shows more widespread snow reaching into Wyoming, Idaho, and Minnesota, while persisting in New York, Michigan and parts of New Hampshire
Eastern snow: By Thursday morning, flurries will have hit much of New York, Pennsylvania, all of Michigan, parts of Ohio - and even Virginia, as temperatures plummet
By this time, mountainous parts of the central plains, including Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, will be hit with daytime lows of just 20 degrees.
In New England, the cold weather has meant a rush of activity in the region's ski trails, with the Killington resort wrapping up its first week of skiing.
The onrush of wintry weather follows Typhoon Nuri which swirled over Alaska in the past few days, forcing a remote military installation to batten down the hatches and endure 70mph winds.
Snow times: In Vermont, the Killington ski resort (pictured) is already open. Most of the snow is artificial, but the resort has experienced some natural fall, and the cold weather could bring more
Chill: Snow on the ground could be much more widespread after the frigid week to come. Pictured is another part of Killington, Vermont
The tempest fueled by the remnants of Typhoon Nuri was will play a role in generating a high-pressure system that will allow frigid air to blanket the central plains and nose into other states.
It became a meteorological 'bomb' after pressure in the storm system dropped 24 millibars in a single day, throwing up huge waves over the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia.
The system was centered 220 miles northwest of Adak in the Aleutian chain, David Kochevar, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said early Sunday.
'It's slowly dissipating over the Bering Sea,' he said.Its strongest winds had diminished considerably and were recorded at just 45 mph in Adak and Shemya Island, Kochevar said.
See the difference: The above map shows the difference between average annual temperatures and predictions for next week - with some area almost 20 degrees colder than usual for mid-November
The storm peaked Friday with sustained winds of 70 mph and gusts up to 96 mph on Shemya, forecasters said. The weakened storm was only expected to bring gale-force winds to the Alaska mainland's southwestern coast, typical for this time of year, said NWS meteorologist Shaun Baines.
'The worst conditions were out where there's no people,' he said Saturday.
On Shemya Island, 120 civilian contractors staff an early warning radar installation for the U.S. military.Eareckson Air Station on the island 1,500 miles southwest Anchorage suffered minor facility damage, Alaskan Command public affairs officer Tommie Baker said.
The corners of a roof were bent back and some dumpsters moved around, but no roof was torn off and the dumpsters didn't slam into any vehicles or buildings, Baker said.
Workers locked themselves inside to wait out the storm. They had yet to conduct a full assessment of damage around the entire island, but expect no major damage as they are accustomed to far worse conditions.
The community averages six weather-related lockdowns a year.The storm surpassed the intensity of 2012's Superstorm Sandy as measured by pressure, but a lack of measuring stations in the remote region means meteorologists didn't have much more data. Sandy caused at least 182 deaths and $65 billion in damage on the East Coast.
Nuri, in contrast, hit a sparsely populated region with just a few small communities where people are accustomed to severe weather.
The high-pressure system Nuri will help create is expected to send temperatures plunging across a wide swathe of the lower 48 states.
High temperatures were forecast to be below freezing on Tuesday across much of Wyoming to Minnesota and parts of Iowa, said Bruce Sullivan of the National Weather Service's prediction center.
The high in Great Falls, Montana, is expected to be 7 degrees, Sullivan said.
By Wednesday, high temperatures will struggle to get out of the low 30s in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, he said.'Once it gets its momentum going, it's going to keep going south,' Sullivan said.