OUR WINTER WONDERLAND BREEDS RECORD COLD...

Well, I must say it pretty weird to glance out the window and see a world of white. Since the first of the year the ground at my place has been bare. You get used to seeing the brown grass and then bam, the world morphs into winter. And it's not just here. Look at how widespread the snow was around the central Midwest.

The 10.6" snow in Waterloo came less than an inch from becoming the all-time snowiest day in March history. Just another example of how extreme the weather has been much of the past year.

Now the storm is headed for the northeast and it has the potential there to be one of the worst for some since the super Blizzard of 1993. That comes on the heels of the warmest February on record. Look at the snowfall the GFS is showing out east over the next 36 hours. New York and Boston will likely see a switch from snow to rain but just west snow totals up to 3 feet are possible.

Along with the snow will come winds that could hit 60 mph. Look at the pressure gradient below. Howling winds and heavy snow 2-3" per hour will make for a shut down blizzard. I can't imagine a storm like that.

Here's the advisories for the northeast. Note the blizzard warnings in red.

Well, enough of that. With the storm cranked up over the east the buckled jet delivers a couple more days of very chilly weather to the Midwest.

Here's the forecast highs on Tuesday. I haven't seen that many 20s in weeks.

Temperatures are bad enough but throw in a nice northerly breeze and you get wind chills that are expected to be in the single digits and teens all day long.

Probably the biggest story this week is the potential for record cold lows Wednesday morning. You can see on the temperature anomaly below the ridge delivering the cold is situated right over my area at dawn Wednesday.

With the ridge overhead, winds will be light and skies clear. Combine that with the extensive snow pack and you have the ingredients to get optimal cooling. I expect some parts of Iowa and Minnesota will see sub-zero lows. This is what the GFS shows.

I am expecting moderation in temperatures late this week, especially over the weekend when readings should be close to normal. That's when the EPO is expected to once again poke into positive territory.

However, if you follow the amplitude you see it quickly decreases by March 20th and I'm afraid colder weather will once again return to the Midwest. It's becoming apparent that March is going to be nothing like February over much of eastern half of the nation.

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That's all for now. Stay warm and roll weather...TS