As expected, the storm system crossing the northern plains and Midwest this Saturday will bring the potential for heavy snow at times. Temperatures will fall below the previous record set for this time of year in 2005, which was nine degrees below zero. According to Mark Chenard of the U.S. National Weather Prediction Center, the arctic cold wave began on Thursday and is expected to continue for the next week or two, making it the longest and most intense cold wave of the season. The official start of winter is still more than two weeks away. Chenard stated that on Thursday, temperatures reached new record lows in over ten locations across Iowa, as well as parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. In addition to the bitter cold, the weather service predicts snow in parts of the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Rocky Mountains through Saturday. A surge of arctic air swept through much of the central and eastern United States yesterday, with temperatures below normal for this time of year, setting records from Iowa and Michigan to New York. On Thursday, the coldest temperature ever recorded was in northern New York, where the temperature dropped to a new record of 22 degrees below zero, surpassing the previous record of 20 degrees below zero. Meanwhile, in Iowa, the temperature reached 19 degrees below zero in the town of Spencer.
