Wow What a Cold!

Winter is going to hit us hard this week. The image below will explain why:

The Red line that is extending its way into the Alabama and Mississippi is the 540 pressure line of the upper atmosphere. This line is equivalent to roughly 32 degrees at the surface. It is generally pretty impressive to have that line extend that far south, but what is more amazing is the 510 pressure line. This line is usually associated with extremely cold temperatures that can easily dip below freezing with wind chills in the negative double digits. That 510 line of air usually hangs around in northern Canada. If it ever rears its ugly head it would usually affect only the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. This extremely cold air looks like it will be sticking around for the next couple of days. The brunt of that air should exit the region by January 25th, which is when we may see our first shot of precipitation for much of the Midwest pending any lake effect snow that may happen.

I know it is the middle of winter and everyone is most certainly prepared but here are some essential items if you need to trek around campus or walk for your car to the office.

I hope everyone has a nice week. Stay warm out there the extreme cold will only last a matter of days!