South Central US is bracing for another brutal round of sub-freezing temperatures, snow and ice

“The swath of accumulating ice and snow on Monday is impressive, stretching from south Texas to the northern Mid-Atlantic,” it added. “Heavy snow on Monday will also blanket much of the Lower Mississippi, the Ohio Valley, into the Northeast.”

How much snow?

As ice accumulates, another storm takes aim

Now, parts of the region are expected to see the worst ice-related impacts Monday, while another storm will be gaining strength to begin only a day and a half later.

“With two crippling storms in five days, some people in remote areas will struggle to cope as temperatures remain below freezing and snow and ice remain on roadways,” Van Dam said. “The cumulative potential economic impact for these regions cannot be overstated.”

“Long duration, brutally cold temperatures in combination with significant ice and heavy snow will put a strain on the energy sector not experienced in years,” he added.

Impacts from the second winter storm are likely to be felt through Thursday, while details on just how powerful it could be will become clearer in the coming days.

140 temperature records could be shattered

And it won’t just be freezing this week — it will be so numbingly cold, that there will likely be more than 140 record-low temperatures shattered from Sunday morning through Tuesday morning, Van Dam said.

And more records could come by mid-week, he added.

More than 55 million people are already under wind chill alerts from North Dakota southward to Texas and from Indiana west to Montana, Van Dam said.

Wind chills will range from about -60 degrees Fahrenheit near the Canadian border to -20 degrees across central Texas, he added.

“This initial cold blast will last through Tuesday morning with another reinforcing shot of cold arctic air entrenching itself southward to the Gulf Coast by midweek,” Van Dam said.

In Northwest, more snow coming

As the South Central US is getting battered with cold weather, snow and ice, another storm will blanket parts of the Pacific Northwest and the Northern Rockies Sunday, Van Dam said.

Seattle already received more than a years’ worth of snow from a storm that cleared out late Saturday.

“The last time Seattle had more than 8.9 inches of snow in a day was January 27, 1969,” the service wrote.

The storm moving in Sunday will likely drop about another one to two inches of snow before that transitions to rain in lower elevations.

Meanwhile up in the Cascades and the Northern Rockies, snow “will be measured in feet,” Van Dam said.

What this means for Covid-19 vaccines

Officials in parts of the country that will be impacted by severe weather have said vaccinations will also be affected.

Federal officials expect Covid-19 vaccine shipments to Texas will be delayed over the next week because of weather conditions, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief W. Nim Kidd said.

“Our vaccines that are set to arrive on Sunday, Monday will probably not arrive until Wednesday, Thursday, so we will see delays in vaccine coming into the state,” Kidd said.

Some local outdoor vaccination sites have shut down ahead of the storm, the chief said.

“Indoor vaccination administration, as long as it is still safe to drive there, will continue,” Kidd added.