Record “Arctic Outbreak” Grips Northern US

The Weather Channel reports:

Wind chills 50 to 60 degrees below zero have been recorded this weekend in North Dakota and northern Minnesota. The coldest wind chill observed so far is 58 degrees below zero in Hettinger, North Dakota, on Sunday morning.

Several daily record lows were set Sunday morning, including Huron, South Dakota (minus 27 degrees), Bangor, Maine (minus 24 degrees), Flint, Michigan (minus 11 degrees – tie) and Binghamton, New York (minus 3 degrees – tie).

The National Weather Service has posted wind chill advisories and warnings over a widespread swath from the Plains and Midwest into the mid-South and Northeast.

In parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota, wind chills as cold as minus 50 to 60 degrees at times could lead to frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

Temperatures in the eastern half of the U.S. may be the coldest to ring in any new year in at least 70 years, according to one model forecast pointed out by Dr. Brian Brettschneider, climatologist with the Western Regional Climate Center.