Button Up Your Overcoat... Wear Gloves, Hats & Layers. Wind Chill Warnings Up Across the Nation.

A picture is sometimes worth a thousand words. Mike posted this on his Facebook Page and it pretty much says it all ... this winter will be remembered for several severe winter blasts before all is said and done and we are back to tracking tropical weather.

https://www.facebook.com/TropicalUpdates

And, by the way even Florida is under freeze warnings in some areas and other areas will feel like they are freezing even if they are warmer than the rest of the nation.

To put it politely everything is out of whack today in the weather.

What's more messed up than the long term problems of crops and the economic losses from this Arctic Blast is the world of travel. JetBlue cancelled a good portion of their flights today and tomorrow morning from Boston throughout the NY City area and many other smaller airports.

http://blog.jetblue.com/index.php/2014/01/06/monday-operational-update/

1. JetBlue Airways ‏@JetBlue2h

   So far in 2014, Mother Nature is calling the shots. Our Monday operational update: http://bit.ly/1f8Jyrw 

    Details
2. JetBlue Airways ‏@JetBlue2h

   Call volumes are causing intermittent issues and dropped calls. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

    Details

CNBC ‏@CNBCnow

Traveling today? So far: •2,977 delays •2,665 cancellations Airlines with the most cancellations: •ExpressJet (452) •JetBlue (416)

Check out this post about the temperature in Duluth being colder today than in ANY location in Alaska.
Now that is definitely NOT NORMAL.

Eric Fisher ‏@ericfishernow

Currently colder in Duluth, MN (-25F) than it is ANYWHERE in Alaska (even parts where sun doesn't rise right now) pic.twitter.com/yd1q82ItVH

 Retweeted 14 times

In Chicago the river rarely ever freezes over. Chicago is not Ottawa where people skate to work in the winter on a frozen river as if it's an additional winter time highway. The river in Chicago is freezing over... rarely ever happens, but it's happening this winter.

2014 may go down in history as one of those years like the winter of 1977-78 when people decided to pack up and move to California or Florida or where ever the snow doesn't fall and the sun shines more often than not.

And, there's another Winter Storm coming down the wintry road.

You can see the front here and watch the temperatures fall tomorrow. No, stop correct that you can watch the temperatures plummet.



That's the Jet Stream NOT a beautiful painting by a meteorologists who likes blues and purples.



I knew a boy who had a shirt like that once. I digress... well it was more paisley. Anyway....


Stunning imagery coming in from the satellites today.

28storms.com ‏@28stormsnow

Very cold air (blues/purples across Nrn U.S. & Canada) associated with the Polar Vortex detected by satellite http://fb.me/349x39Yv3 

CONUS is going to be one cold place tonight........... all the way down to South Florida.

http://images.intellicast.com/WxImages/JetStream/conus.jpg

Warnings are shown below and should be taken seriously if you are living anywhere within the warning zone.

http://www.wral.com/blast-of-arctic-air-to-invade-by-tuesday/13271208/

(see text below it applies to a wide area across the US)

The freezing temperatures heighten concerns for hypothermia – when a person’s body temperature drops below 95 degrees – and frostbite. At temperatures of 15-30 below, exposed skin can become frostbitten in minutes. Experts advise residents to stay covered when outside, avoid alcohol and contact a doctor if patches of dry, red skin develop.

Car batteries are vulnerable to cold weather. Most batteries under three years old should be able to handle the cold but it is best to keep vehicles in a garage to help ensure a vehicle will start.

Cold weather also increases the likelihood for trouble with home water pipes. Here are some tips to help keep pipes from freezing:

- Have regular pipe maintenance done – at least once year.
- Regularly change filters around the house.
- Drip faucet so pipes don’t burst. (Drip only one faucet in the house. Choose one close to an exterior wall so pipes don’t freeze)
- Open cabinet doors where pipes are so they can feel the heat from the home.
- Turn off the outdoor sprinkler system.
- Detach the water hose from the outdoor faucet.
- Get an outdoor faucet protector. (An alternative is to wrap a rag around the faucet and secure it with tape)

If the pipes are already frozen, AAA suggests:
- If the faucet is turned on and nothing comes out, leave the faucets on and call a plumber.
- Do not use electrical appliances in areas of standing water.
- Never try to thaw a pipe with a torch or other open flame. It could cause a fire.
- Pipes may be thawed using warm air from a hair dryer. Warm the pipe as close to the faucet as possible, working toward the coldest section of pipe.
- If water pipes have already burst, turn off the water at the main shutoff valve in the house. Leave the water faucets turned on. Make sure family members know where the water shutoff valve is and how to open and close it.

http://www.weather.gov

Note WHITE is the area of the country that has NO alerts... 

Besos Bobbi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VvQ48ulQ-A   (the original.... )