A double dose of nasty winter is about to smack much of the US with snow, ice and biting cold

A strong snow and ice storm followed by brutally cold conditions will soon smack the eastern two-thirds of the United States as frigid air escapes the Arctic, plunging as far south as Florida, meteorologists forecast. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Lamers said Friday that the potential for blizzard conditions is increasing, particularly in Kansas and neighboring portions of the Central Plains, and that wind gusts may reach 50 mph at times. It’s going to be three to five, in some cases a week or more of temperatures that are well below historical average.” The biggest drop below normal is likely to be centered over the Ohio Valley, but significant unusual cold will extend southward all the way to the Gulf Coast, said Danny Barandiaran, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Woodwell Climate Research Institute climate scientist Jennifer Francis said the initial blasting winds from the north may shock people after a fairly warm last couple of years. “There’ll be a lot of whining, but it is winter.. Just because the globe is warming doesn’t mean these cold snaps are going away.” This double dose of nasty weather may be triggered in part by a fast-warming Arctic, serving as a not-so-gentle reminder that climate change gooses weather extremes, even winter ones, said Francis and Judah Cohen, seasonal forecast director at the private firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research.