As we settle in to the waning end of the holiday season, many of us will find ourselves watching a bevy of classic films and television specials that all have one thing in common: The hope in a child’s eye that they could have snow on Christmas.
For many pieces of entertainment, it’s the unexpected blanket of fluffy snow on Christmas morning that reminds us of the power of believing, and of goodwill to all.
But this year, for a great many Americans, Christmas could bring with it some dangerous weather as opposed to the idyllic kind.
Dangerous cold for much of the country was expected to blow in this week as part of an Arctic cold front. Temperatures are likely to drop 25 to 35 degrees in a matter of hours as the Arctic air passes through a given area, according to the NWS.
Snow squalls are forecast in parts of the West, while flash freezes may occur from the Mid-South to the East Coast, the agency warned.
And Santa may find himself struggling to keep his sleigh on course, too.
Winds gusting up to 60 mph could drop wind chill temperatures to life-threatening lows of around -40 degrees throughout the central and north-central U.S., according to the NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center.
Wind chill warnings and watches were in effect across 17 states from Washington to Texas, the NOAA said.
The system could produce trouble for travelers as well.
“The next two days are your getaway days. As we go into the end of the week, that’s when we see some big-time issues, especially for Friday,” FOX Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “Friday is one of the biggest travel days that we will see for the entire week, and that’s when we will see the majority of the snow, the strongest winds, and of course, a lot of rain, especially for the East Coast.”
Let’s hope we’ve all got some mittens and knit caps in our stockings this year.
