National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Heat Wave Expands to the East Coast; Flash Flooding Likely in the Central Plains into the Midwest; Severe Thunderstorms in the Northeast

Dangerous, prolonged heat is ongoing in the Mid-South to Mid-Mississippi Valley and heat expands into the Northeast for a brief period today. Widely scattered instances of flash flooding due to heavy rains are forecast from northeast Kansas to much of Indiana. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across parts of New England, northern Mid-Atlantic, and North Dakota. Read More >

Overview

A powerful cold front swept through the region, with wind chills dropping to 20 to 30 below zero. These were the coldest wind chills observed in over 25 years across the region. Paducah dropped down to a -21 wind chill which was the coldest since February 3, 1996. Meanwhile, Evansville plummeted to -30 which was the coldest since December 22, 1989. This was also only the 8th time dating back to 1950 that Evansville has recorded a wind chill dropping down to -30 or colder.  On top of the extreme cold, a few inches of snow fell which snarled travel across the region. Peak wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph were observed during this event as well. A total of three fatalities were reported, including one hypothermia fatality, one vehicle accident fatality, and a fire fatality blamed on improper use of a heating device.
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