December 22, 2022 Winter storm news

The coldest Christmas to hit central Florida since 1983 is coming this weekend, according to CNN predictions.  

Much of northern Florida is under a wind chill advisory, while central Florida is under a freeze watch and hard freeze watch, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). 

Florida Power & Light, one of the state’s largest energy providers, told customers to prepare for the wintery weather conditions.  

More than 110 million people coast-to-coast were under winter-weather alerts for snow or icy conditions Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

And more than 90 million people were under wind-chill alerts from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and from Washington state to Florida, with some temperatures dropping to “life-threatening” levels, the Weather Prediction Service said.

The storm is expected to become a “bomb cyclone” Thursday evening into Friday, reaching the pressure equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane as it moves into the Great Lakes.

Here are some scenes from the storm as it makes the nation shiver and wreaks havoc on holiday travel.

Kids shovel snow off a sidewalk and driveway in Minneapolis on December 22. 

Travelers arrive for their flights at O'Hare International Airport on Thursday, December 22, in Chicago. 

An Iowa Department of Transportation plow clears a road in Iowa City on December 21. 

Greg Behrens tries to stay warm as he walks on a snow-covered sidewalk in Des Moines, Iowa, on December 21. 

Snow covers homes in Seattle on Tuesday, December 20. 

See more photos here.

At least two all-time record lows were set overnight from the Arctic blast, and more than a dozen record-low temperatures were either tied or broken on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

All-time record lows:

Nearly a dozen record temperatures were set in Montana, including:  

Elsewhere:

CNN’s Hannah Sarisohn and Haley Brink contributed reporting to this post.

Due to travel warnings and “in anticipation of hazardous road conditions caused by the impending winter storm,” all Illinois Secretary of State offices and Driver Services facilities will be closed starting Thursday afternoon.

“Secretary [Jesse] White’s top priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of customers and employees,” a release from the Secretary of State’s office said.

“I encourage motorists to abide by law enforcement warnings to stay off the roads during hazardous, blizzard-like winter conditions,” Secretary of State for Illinois Jesse White said. 

Secretary of State offices and facilities will reopen on Tuesday after the holiday weekend.

A person walks through snow in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on December 22.

Thursday and Friday will be the peak of what the National Weather Service is calling a “once-in-generation type event.” Most of the country is being impacted in one way or another from the Arctic blast and the bomb cyclone.

Here’s a timeline of the weather forecasts for some US cities:

Chicago

Denver

Minneapolis

Detroit

Washington

New York

Atlanta 

Travelers arrive for their flights at O'Hare International Airport on December 22, in Chicago. 

Nearly 1,700 flights have been canceled and over 2,480 have been delayed within, into or out of the United States so far as winter weather affects a large portion of the nation.

According to the flight-tracking site FlightAware, the airports most affected during this busy holiday travel time are Chicago O’Hare and Denver International.

About 230 flights out of O’Hare and 265 into the airport have been canceled, 22% and 25%, respectively. About 215 flights leaving Denver International and 243 into the airport have been canceled, 22% and 26%, respectively.

Several inches of snow, combined with wind gusts of 50-60 mph, could lead to the first blizzard warning in Chicago in over four years.

Denver saw temperatures plummet 65 degrees in 16 hours, from 50 degrees on Wednesday afternoon to -15 degrees in the early morning hours on Thursday.

A worker from the Washington Department of Transportation clears a drain as drivers commute through snow on December 20, in Seattle, Washington.

Officials in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado alerted drivers to road closures and severe driving conditions Thursday morning as piling snow and dropping temperatures wreaked havoc on roadways.

In Montana, the state transportation department warned of traffic hazards and abandoned vehicles across the state. Drivers face particular trouble outside the city of Bozeman on Interstate 90, where the temperature is -33 degrees.

Officials also reported a cluster of hazards and incidents near the small town of Glendive in eastern Montana. At the intersection of several highways there, the temperature is -21 degrees, according to transportation officials.

The department’s road report cautions about “blowing snow, reduced visibility, and scattered snow and ice.” 

The Wyoming transportation department also reported clusters of hazards and incidents across the state. Drivers face particular trouble in the southwest of the state, near the cities of Kemmer and Evanston, and in the southeast of the state near Cheyenne. 

In Idaho, transportation officials reported significant road closures near the southeastern city of Pocatello due to drifting snow and high winds. Weather stations recorded temperatures as low as -20 degrees in Pocatello.

And in Colorado, the state’s transportation department issued a number of statewide safety closures Thursday morning, with some highways closed due to blowing snow creating “adverse driving conditions and low visibility.”

Interstate 70 is closed in multiple places, including eastbound at Silverthorne near Denver, where semi-trucks spun out.

“Roads are icy, visibility is poor at times when the wind gusts, and there are numerous vehicles stuck on the roadways. Travel is not advised. Please stay home and warm, it’s the safest option today,” Colorado State Patrol Troop 4C warned. 

Ground blizzard conditions are forecast to persist across portions of far eastern Montana, southwestern North Dakota, and central South Dakota well into the afternoon hours today, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

A ground blizzard typically occurs when a strong arctic cold front pushes through a region bringing with it extreme cold and strong winds, according to the National Weather Service. These winds will pick up and blow around any snow on the ground which can quickly lead to whiteout conditions.

Widespread snowfall totals across the region have been relatively light with 1 to 4 inches of snowfall over the last 24 hours but winds are expected to continue to be strong, picking up in intensity through the afternoon.

President Joe Biden speaks during a briefing on the winter storm system traversing the US and the expected impacts, in Washington, DC, on December 22.

President Biden cautioned Americans to take the widespread “dangerous and threatening” winter storm seriously and to listen to warnings from local officials.

“This is really a very serious weather alert here. And it goes from Oklahoma all the way to Wyoming, and Wyoming to Maine. And it is a real consequence. So I encourage everyone, everyone please heed the local warnings,” Biden said.

The administration has tried to contact 26 governors so far in affected regions, he said.  

“And my team is prepared to help communities weather this, no pun intended, this storm and this freeze,” he added. 

He said he will be briefed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service shortly.

“Take this storm extremely seriously,” he said, encouraging people to travel to their destinations as soon as possible.

Buffalo Public Schools will be closed on Friday due to the severe winter weather expected to hit the state, the Buffalo City School District said on their website.

Buffalo school district serves approximately 32,000 students in 60 facilities, according to the district website.

The announcement added that there will be no remote instruction and asked all students and staff to remain home.

Here’s the forecast from the National Weather Service in Buffalo: “A Blizzard Warning was issued for the Niagara Frontier, including the Buffalo Metro area. Lake effect snow, strong wind, blowing snow, and -10 to -25 wind chills will follow a frontal passage Friday. Travel will be difficult to impossible Friday through much of Christmas weekend.”

Heavy rain, snow, high winds, flash freezing, and flash flooding are expected for several regions in New York state.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also warned that damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines making widespread power outages possible. She directed state agencies on Wednesday to prepare to respond to the significant winter weather system that’s expected to hit the state Thursday into Monday.

To prepare for the high winds the New York State Thruway is also implementing a tandem and empty truck/ trailer ban on parts of the Interstate 90 beginning on Friday at 6 a.m. ET.

Tennessee Department of Transportation crews work to pre-treat roads.

Multiple Tennessee Department of Transportation crews are out working to pretreat roads due to the “inclement weather looming” across the state, the state’s Department of Transportation said.  

Mark Nagi, the department’s region 1 community relations officer for east Tennessee, posted several pictures and videos of crew working to prep the roads. 

Rae Anne Bradley, the department’s region 2 community relations officer for east and middle Tennessee, said her team members have been preparing the roads since Wednesday “in anticipation of inclement weather.”  

Bradley also said Thursday that crews will continue to treat the roads “as conditions intensify.”  

The state’s emergency management arm also warned residents who are planning on traveling to “check road conditions and have an emergency vehicle kit.” 

The Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the nation’s largest energy suppliers, said it’s ready to combat the state’s upcoming wintery conditions.  

“Reliable power is important now more than ever, and our employees across the fleet are working hard around the clock, even during the Holiday season, keeping the electricity flowing and your home merry and bright,” the company said in a tweet.  

The frigid temperatures hitting Alabama Thursday and Friday are “likely be the coldest December air mass to hit the state since 1989,” Alabama Emergency Management said in a release Thursday.  

Alabama’s Department of Transportation said that pre-treating of roads will be “minimally effective” due to the arctic cold front combined with precipitation that’s going to impact the state Thursday and Friday. 

Much of Alabama is under a hard freeze warning, according to the National Weather Service. The transportation department said northern Alabama will get the brunt of the “precipitation and sustained subfreezing.”   

People shovel snow on December 22, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The “once-in-a-generation” winter storm sweeping across the nation will force Americans to crank up the heat at a time when it’s become increasingly expensive to do just that.

Even before this historic system emerged, experts warned home heating costs would jump this winter to the highest level in more than a decade.

The average cost of home heating is projected to increase by 17.2% from last winter to $1,208, according to a November report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

The cost to heat homes is expected to be 35.7% higher this winter than the 2020-2021 winter, the report said.

The price for natural gas – the most popular way to heat homes in America – has surged and electricity prices have also climbed sharply.

Homes that rely on natural gas for heat will spend an average of 25% more this winter, the US Energy Information Administration projected last month. Those that use heating oil are projected to spend 45% more than last winter, while electricity will be up 11% and propane 1%.

But the heating bills will only get more expensive if the winter proves to be colder than expected.

For instance, the average household that uses natural gas for heat will spend 37% more than last winter if temperatures are 10% colder than forecasted, the Energy Information Administration warned. Heating oil bills would spike by 52%.

Consumers were feeling sticker shock even before the winter began. Prices for utility gas spiked 15.5% year-over-year in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Electricity prices were up 14%.

An added burden for those on the financial edge: The consequences are particularly acute for those who can least afford swings in their expense. 

“Home heating costs are becoming increasingly unaffordable for millions of lower income families,” the National Energy Assistance Directors Association said in its November report.

As of August, about one in six US families were behind on their utility bills, translating to approximately 20 million households, according to the association. 

The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area along and north of Interstate 20 is experiencing “snow flurries to legitimate light snow” Thursday morning, according to an update from the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

Light to moderate snow along and north of the I-20 corridor is possible through midday. The snow will be dry and the wind will blow it around so roads will be generally clear and travel will not be impacted, the weather service said.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport said it has made preparations for subfreezing temperatures.

Only 5% of flights out of both Dallas/Fort Worth International and Dallas Love Field airports are delayed, according to FlightAware.

The National Weather Service in Pocatello, Idaho, is advising residents to limit outdoor exposure as temperatures in the area register from -3 degrees to -32 degrees.

In the northern part of the state near the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, the weather service is reporting temperatures as low as -59 degrees and -61 degrees.

Here are some updates from the weather service in Pocatello on Facebook Thursday morning:

Dangerous — and in some cases life-threatening — cold is diving south and east, with plunging temperatures. Denver and Cheyenne saw record drops in temperatures as the front passed through the cities, and Atlanta and Washington could see their coldest Christmas Eves on record as the extreme cold shifts east. 

Wind chill alerts extend from the US-Mexican to the US-Canadian border, covering over 90 million people.

Denver saw temperatures plummet 65 degrees in 16 hours, from 50 degrees on Wednesday afternoon to -15 degrees in the early morning hours on Thursday. In just one hour, Denver dropped nearly 40 degrees.

Wind chills this morning are 40 to 60 degrees below zero, where frostbite can occur in as little as 5 minutes on exposed skin.

Below-zero wind chills have dropped as far south as Texas this morning and will spread through the Southeast.

And as the Arctic front pushes east, the temperatures will plummet, with freeze warnings along the entire Gulf Coast and into Florida.

Bomb cyclone is a term given to a rapidly strengthening storm that fulfills one important criterion: Generally, pressure must drop 24 millibars (a unit of pressure) within 24 hours.

That benchmark is also based on the latitude of the storm. So, the millibar requirement can change depending on where the storm forms.

Here’s where things stand with the bomb cyclone across the US:

The Missoula International Airport in Missoula, Montana, is experiencing delays as temperatures dip below -15 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Arriving and departing flights to and from Salt Lake City, Seattle and Denver are delayed, according to the airport’s website. It’s not clear yet how long the flights are delayed.

Officials from the weather service in Missoula tweeted a video from outside the airport demonstrating the severity of the cold air by throwing water into the air and “creating a cloud.”

Temperatures this cold can cause frostbite on exposed skin in 30 minutes or less, according to the weather service in Missoula. 

“Slick and hazardous” conditions were reported in northern and western Oklahoma Thursday morning as winter weather makes its way into the state, according to a tweet from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. 

Crews are monitoring and treating highways “as necessary.”

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for all 77 counties ahead of the approaching winter storm. The storm is expected to include a mix of freezing rain, snow, strong wind, and low temperatures.

Officials in Louisiana are urging residents to be prepared for life-threatening temperatures to hit the state Thursday night and through the Christmas weekend.  

The Louisiana Department of Transportation said it’s prepared to “close bridges and elevated sections of roadway that are considered unsafe” due to the “wintery conditions” impacting the state.  

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards also asked residents to check in on friends and family members that might have a hard time with the frigid temperatures.  

The air mass to hit the state “will be bitterly cold with low temperatures in the teens to lower 20s for a prolonged period,” the National Weather Service said, as much of the state is under a hard freeze warning.  

With the hard freeze warning comes potentially “hazardous” driving conditions, the state’s transportation department said.  

The transportation department reminded residents to “drive slowly and carefully,” refrain from using cruise control on icy roads, and “allow for extra driving time.”

Beds and care bags are prepared at a warming center in Denver, Colorado, on December 21.

Temperatures continue to plummet across the central US as arctic air pushes south and east this morning. Here’s a snapshot at the steep drops in temperature across different parts of the country:

Casper, Wyoming: In less than 18 hours, from 7:40 a.m. MT Wednesday to 1:35 a.m. MT Thursday, the temperature dropped by 70 degrees. As of 6 a.m. MT Thursday, the reported temperature was -35 degrees, but with a wind chill of -76 degrees.

Denver, Colorado: Temperature dropped by 65 degrees in 16 hours. The largest plunge came when temperature dropped 47 degrees in just two hours yesterday from 46 degrees Fahrenheit at 3:58 p.m. MT to -1 degree Fahrenheit at 5:58 p.m. MT.

Amarillo, Texas: Temperature dropped 42 degrees in six hours. The current wind chill this morning is -7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wichita, Kansas: Between roughly 10 p.m. CT and 7 a.m. CT, the temperature dropped by 36 degrees. However, the temperature dropped 20 degrees — from 32 degrees Fahrenheit to 12 degrees Fahrenheit — in just one hour between 11:53 p.m. CT and 12:53 a.m. CT Wednesday night. Temperatures are still falling and are expected to bottom out near -4 degrees Fahrenheit later this morning.

Kansas City, Missouri: Temperatures dropped by 30 degrees within six hours overnight, and temperatures are forecast to continue falling this morning, bottoming out near -7 degrees by mid-day.

A flash freeze coming to Arkansas Thursday has the potential to freeze many roads in the state, said Dave Parker, spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Transportation.  

“We are looking at a situation called flash freeze,” Parker said in a video message Wednesday evening.

A flash freeze means a majority of the state could see “some precipitation, mostly in the form of rain,” by noon Thursday, Parker said, followed by a “very very significant temperature drop.” 

“For example, it may be 45 degrees Thursday afternoon and then within an hour or two later, it’s down to 15 degrees, thus creating flash freeze,” he said.   

“My message to everyone is this, that Thursday afternoon, state-wide, from 1-2 up until 7-8 o’clock, is that window where this flash freeze could occur. If you’re out on the roadways leaving work, heading out, I know it’s the holidays a lot of people are off — is be extremely careful.”  

“Know where you’re going, take it slow, take it easy, safety is always number one,” Parker added.   

Much of the central and southern parts of Arkansas are under a hard freeze warning and wind chill advisory, according to the National Weather Service.  

The weather service in Little Rock, Arkansas, said the weather threat isn’t limited to just Thursday.  

As winter weather conditions continue to worsen in Pierre, South Dakota’s capital city, the Pierre Regional Airport has closed, a tweet from the city said Thursday morning.

The city will continue to assess conditions and reopen the airport “as conditions allow.” According to the city, driving conditions remain treacherous.

Other commercial airports in the state, including Sioux Falls Regional Airport, continued their operations Friday, with a number of flight cancellations, according to FlightAware.

Travelers arrive for their flights at O'Hare International Airport on December 22, in Chicago.

The snow won’t hit Chicago with full force until later Thursday – but already it’s disrupting the Windy City’s role as one of the most important air travel hubs in the country on one of the busiest pre-Christmas travel days.

As of 5:50 a.m. CT, Chicago O’Hare International Airport led the nation for outbound flights canceled, with 178 – or 17% of its outbound flights, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Throughout the nation, more than 1,200 flights were canceled.

Chicago’s Midway International Airport was third in the US, with 71 (24%) of its outbound flights canceled. Denver International Airport was second, with cancellations of 138 (15%) of its outbound flights, according to FlightAware.

At United’s Chicago-based network operations center, workers were scrambling to save people’s trips by trying to move passengers onto connections to other airports, Muntean reported.

Read about steps you can take if your flight is canceled:

A flight information display system shows departure times at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on December 27, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia.

Related article What should I do if my flight has been canceled or delayed?

All the motorists among the more than 100 cars that had been stranded in western South Dakota are believed to be accounted for, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said early Thursday.

On Wednesday night, the sheriff’s office had said dozens were stranded due to the storm’s impact in the Rapid City area.

More than 50 people took shelter in the city of Wall, while some motorists sought shelter at a church in Wicksville and about 65 people went to a warming shelter in nearby New Underwood.

An emergency operations center is also open in the county’s administration building, according to the sheriff’s office.

There is a blizzard warning and a wind chill warning for the Pennington County Plains, according to the National Weather Service.

If you’re ever stranded in your car because of a bad winter storm, being prepared can be the difference between survival and serious harm or death.

For nearly two days back in January 2022, motorists were stuck on Interstate 95 in snowy and icy conditions in eastern Virginia after a storm left more than a foot of snow in the area.

And now at the end of 2022, we’re looking at a “once-in-generation” bomb cyclone that could bring dangerous cold to much of the US.

Winter storms, bad weather and sloppy road conditions can be frightening and dangerous for travelers, and “are a factor in nearly half a million crashes and more than 2,000 road deaths every winter,” according to AAA.

Because of these risks, “it’s always important to be prepared versus get caught in a situation that turns dangerous or potentially deadly, especially in the winter season when temperatures can drop very, very cold in a short amount of time,” said CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray.

Read about what you should have in your car to be safe:

Related article What to pack in your car to stay safe during severe winter weather

Travelers walk through the snow into Terminal 1 at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

Severe winter weather has disrupted millions of travelers’ plans this holiday with more than 1,100 flights canceled across the US on Thursday, according to the flight tracking site Flightaware.

As of early Thursday, 1,182 flights within, into or out of the US had already been canceled, according to FlightAware.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport had the most cancellations, followed by Denver International and Chicago’s Midway International, according to the site.

Several US airlines have issued travel waivers as the storm affects airports across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Pacific Northwest.

Migrants spend the night outside, near the U.S.-Mexico border fence, while waiting to make asylum claims in El Paso, Texas, on December 21 as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Migrants who recently arrived in Texas and those near the US-Mexico border will confront extremely cold weather beginning Thursday evening as some live on the streets or in abandoned houses.

Dangerously cold temperatures are forecast to grip El Paso and other parts of the state, including Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. Wind chills could reach as low as 15 degrees early Saturday in El Paso and the upper 20s in the Brownsville area.

That’s happening against the backdrop of the arrival of thousands of migrants to El Paso, whose mayor declared a state of emergency last week, in part, to handle shelter accommodations for migrants.

The influx of migrants – including mothers and children – is stemming from an immigration policy that was set to expire Wednesday. The policy, enacted under the Trump administration in 2020, allows authorities to expel migrants encountered at the southern border, with some exceptions. At the time, officials said it was an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.

US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts put a temporary hold on the policy’s termination earlier this week, which has led to uncertainty surrounding the future of asylum seekers.

And even though shelters are packed, many migrants remain unhoused and in unsafe conditions as temperatures are forecast to drop. Last weekend, a crowd of migrants could be seen sleeping on the ground outside a bus station in El Paso.

Read more about migrant living conditions here:

Rain turns to snow on pine trees during the morning hours in Lake Forest Park, Seattle on Tuesday.

Areas accustomed to seeing heavy snow and brutal winters are experiencing intensified conditions with this storm.

Many roads closed in Wyoming and northern Colorado due to poor visibility triggered by blowing snow, and dozens of vehicles were stranded in western South Dakota as drivers went through the nightmare of not being able to dig their cars out.

Even the South will not be spared: Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham and other metro areas are expected to see snow Thursday. Florida is at risk of seeing sudden temperature drops Friday.

“This is a case in which snow totals may not tell the whole story. Even small snow amounts, when combined with very strong wind gusts and plummeting temperatures, can cause poor visibility and slick spots on roads. The sudden arrival of these conditions can increase the danger,” the National Weather Service explained.

Read more about how different regions are impacted here:

Kids shovel snow off a sidewalk and driveway Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Related article Temperatures plunge as a severe winter storm blasts the US, snarling travel and prompting emergency declarations | CNN

Dozens of drivers were stranded on snow-covered roadways Wednesday in western South Dakota as a massive storm system delivers heavy snow to the region.

More than 100 vehicles were stuck between Rapid City and the city of Wall roughly 50 miles east along Interstate 90, prompting a coordinated effort with the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and the South Dakota Highway Patrol to help motorists.

“Resources from Pennington County Highway Department, South Dakota Department of Transportation and area volunteer fire departments are tied up rescuing people along this stretch of road. The goal is to get all stranded motorists to safety,” the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post Wednesday night.

Officials are urging stranded motorists to stay in their vehicles and call 911. Warming shelters have been opened in the area, they said.

An emergency operations center is also open in the county’s administration building, according to the sheriff’s office.

“More than 50 people are taking shelter in Wall. Motorists are taking shelter at the church in Wicksville,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that about 65 people were at a warming shelter in nearby New Underwood.

Warnings in effect: There is a blizzard warning and a wind chill warning for the Pennington County Plains, according to the National Weather Service.

Bad weather. Computer glitches. Staffing shortages. Oversold flights. Inflation. Holiday crunches. It has been a tough slog for many air travelers for much of 2022.

And it looks like the year will go out as rough as it came in with a winter “bomb cyclone” that could make travel the week heading up to Christmas Day a dangerously cold, frustratingly messy affair.

What if you’re one of the unlucky passengers caught up in these events? What can you do?

Read more about steps you can take here:

A flight information display system shows departure times at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on December 27, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia.

Related article What should I do if my flight has been canceled or delayed?

Record-breaking temperature drops are occurring in Colorado and Wyoming as a nationwide winter storm bears down.

Temperatures in Denver plunged to -9 degrees Fahrenheit from 42 degrees on Wednesday afternoon into the evening. Wind chill also fell to -30 degrees from 32 degrees during the same time frame.

A 37-degree drop in temperature over one hour at Denver International Airport is preliminarily the biggest ever recorded at that location, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder. A 24-degree drop in temperature was also recorded in seven minutes.

In Wyoming, the capital city of Cheyenne went from 43 degrees with a wind chill of 35 at 1:05 p.m. local time to a temperature of -13 with a wind chill of -42 at 4:00 pm. That means the city experienced a drop of more than 75 degrees in terms of wind chill, which indicates what the wind feels like.

Cheyenne also saw a 30-degree drop in temperature in 10 minutes and a record-breaking 43-degree temperature drop in one hour. 

Life-threatening cold: Denver’s high temperature on Thursday is expected to stay below zero and likely will be its coldest day in over 30 years. Temperatures are forecast to plummet by as many as 60 degrees from earlier temps.

Bomb cyclone is a term given to a rapidly strengthening storm that fulfills one important criterion: Generally, pressure must drop 24 millibars (a unit of pressure) within 24 hours. However, that benchmark is also based on the latitude of the storm. So, the millibar requirement can change depending on where the storm forms.

The term can be traced back to a meteorological research paper published in a 1980 edition of Monthly Weather Review.

Its authors, MIT meteorologists Fred Sanders and John Gyakum, built upon work by Swedish meteorology researcher Tor Bergeron, who had initially defined “rapidly deepening” storms as those that met the 24 millibars-in-24 hours criterion.

But Bergeron was way up in Scandinavia, where storms strengthen much quicker because of the latitude (remember the Coriolis effect?)

Sanders and Gyakum adjusted the ground rules to vary based on latitude. They added the term “bomb” because of the explosive power that these storms derive from rapid pressure drops (though Gyakum reportedly doesn’t use that word anymore because of its reference to weaponry).

If you want to calculate the pressure drop needed for a bomb cyclone, you take the sine of the latitude where the low pressure is located and divide it by the sine of 60 degrees (and you thought you would never use trigonometry).

Once you do the calculation, multiply that result by 24, and that is the number of millibars the storm’s pressure must drop to officially qualify it as a bomb cyclone at the given latitude.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a campaign event in Ringgold, Georgia on November 6.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was among several state leaders to declare a state of emergency due to this week’s “historic low temperatures,” he said during a news conference Wednesday.  

The state of emergency helps officials provide essential supplies, including propane delivery to accommodate commercial and residential needs, Kemp said.

The governor also urged all Georgians to be alert and ready for the cold weather, adding that local warming stations will be activated.  

The emergency declaration began Wednesday and will be in effect through midnight Monday, Kemp said.

Other states ramp up: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt also declared a state of emergency Wednesday. Essentially, the declaration temporarily suspends requirements for size and weight permits of oversized vehicles transporting materials used for emergency relief and power restoration.

Meanwhile, Maryland has activated emergency response operations ahead of the winter storm.

Due to quickly deteriorating weather conditions, the Wyoming Highway Patrol responded to nearly 800 calls for service in a 12-hour period Wednesday, the agency said.

The highway patrol released striking videos showing the lack of visibility due to strong winds produced by the massive winter storm that’s affecting much of the US just days before Christmas.

A video was also released showing intense wind and snow from Cheyenne, Wyoming, stating:

Dangerous weather conditions bringing nearly zero visibility have led to many road closures between Colorado and Wyoming on Wednesday.

Areas extending south of Cheyenne, Wyoming, along I-25 to north of Wellington, Colorado, were slammed with “localized heavy snow bands” that created extremely poor visibility on roads, according to the local National Weather Service.

This area experienced wind gusts of more than 70 mph with snow squall warnings that impacted visibility, according to CNN meteorologist Robert Shackleford.

Northbound lanes of US 287 are closed between Colorado Highway 14 and the Wyoming border, and County Road 54E and the Wyoming border due to safety concerns, according to a tweet from the Colorado Department of Transportation.

US 85 Northbound and US 85 Southbound is closed between County Road 80 up to the Wyoming border, and US 85 is closed between the Wyoming state line and the town of Ault for low to no visibility, CDOT said.

More than 1,000 flights have been canceled across the US, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, as severe winter weather on Thursday threatens holiday travel.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport leads the way in those cancellations, followed by Denver International and Chicago’s Midway International.

Cancellations at those airports – busy hubs where travelers often change planes in order to reach other destinations – could have a wider impact. 

As of Wednesday night, at least 1,024 flights have been canceled heading into Thursday, which is expected to be the busiest and most difficult day to travel before Christmas.

Nationwide winter weather: Chicago is expected to be one of the hardest-hit cities as a winter storm warning has been issued through early Saturday. Several US airlines have issued travel waivers as the storm bears down.

More than 25 million people are under hard freeze watches and warnings across the South as temperatures fall below freezing over the next few days. 

These watches are mainly in effect from Thursday to Saturday, and some extend through Monday.

Here is a duration and timeline for several vulnerable cities:

Prolonged temperatures below freezing could lead to pipes bursting, pose a danger for pets left outside, and could kill crops and vegetation.

The combination of an arctic air mass and strong winds gusting 15 to 20 mph will cause wind chills along the Texas/Mexico border late Friday night into Saturday morning.

Here are some forecasted wind chill values:

Friday:

Saturday:

Travelers check in for their flights at kiosks and wait in line to check luggage at Minneapolis St. Paul Airport on December 21.

US airlines have issued travel waivers ahead of what’s forecast to be a brutal “bomb cyclone” of wintry weather in the Midwest and other regions later this week. The important aviation hub of Chicago is forecast to be one of the cities hit the hardest, with the National Weather Service warning of the potential for a blizzard.

Here’s what airlines are doing to account for the winter weather:

Astronomical winter officially started Wednesday and Jack Frost arrived in full force.

Temperatures will continue to take a polar plunge this week, and even Florida won’t be spared, thanks to a strong high-pressure system sliding south from Canada.

The sunshine state will also cool down by the end of the week.

On Monday, Atlanta will see a high temperature near 50 degrees, but come Friday, that high temperature may not even reach 30 degrees. Denver goes from a high of 46 degrees on Monday down to a high of only 14 by Thursday.

Some Floridians will see a much more sudden drop. Pensacola’s high temperature of 64 on Thursday will seem downright tropical compared to the high of 38 just 24 hours later. And yes, this means overnight low temperatures are likely to drop below freezing.

Make sure to cover any plants you may still have outside and bring your pets inside this week.

Even Miami’s high temperature of 73 on Friday – which will likely be the warmest spot across the continental US – will be nearly 10 degrees cooler than the previous day.

Over the next week, more than 260 million people will see temperatures at or below freezing across the US – over 80% of the population.

The cold air is here to stay. Long-range forecast models continue to show temperatures well below normal through Christmas weekend.

If you are looking for warm weather for the holiday weekend, you will be limited to South Florida, Southern California, or Hawaii.

CNN Meteorologist Haley Brink contributed to this story.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during a press conference on December 21.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency in preparation for the frigid temperatures and snow that are expected to hit the commonwealth into early next week.

Wind gusts are expected to reach 40 to 50 miles per hour on Friday and wind chills could reach -10 to -26 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, Beshear said. 

The incoming weather is expected to affect travel and may cause broken waterlines, power outages and damage to public and private infrastructures and properties, Beshear added.

The governor has also contacted county officials to assist them with opening warming centers for residents, he said during a press conference on Wednesday. 

In addition to asking Kentuckians to stay off the road Thursday evening, when weather is expected to worsen, Beshear asked residents to have a backup heat source and a vehicle kit.  

On Twitter, the National Weather Service in Louisville posted “Crashing temperatures Thursday night may cause a flash freeze, creating hazardous icy patches on roads.”

The state’s price gouging laws have also been activated to prevent businesses from overpricing goods. 

A man blows snow off a sidewalk on December 21 in Minneapolis.

A winter storm that will impact nearly every state and bring what the National Weather Service is calling a “once in a generation type event” has begun.

Here’s the timeline of the weather that is unfolding:

Thursday will be the most difficult day for travel: The storm will be hitting the Midwest extremely hard with heavy snow and strong winds. Western Minnesota will face not only blizzard conditions, but potentially deadly wind chills Thursday and Friday.

Chicago could also face blizzard conditions with winds gusting as high as 50 mph, with 2 to 4 inches of snow forecast.

Additionally, strong winds may knock out power lines in the Midwest, especially in areas where heavy snow fell last week and is already weighing down tree branches. This will leave millions finding a way to stay warm as temperatures plummet to well below freezing.

Southeast snow: Major cities in the South – including Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, and Jackson, Mississippi, are set to see snow Thursday. Little to no accumulation is expected for most of the southern cities. However, Nashville could pick up about an inch of snow.

The storm is expected to become a “bomb cyclone” Thursday evening into Friday: A bomb cyclone is when a storm rapidly intensifies – and drops 24 millibars (a term used to measure atmospheric pressure) in 24 hours.

The storm is expected to reach the pressure equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane as it reaches the Great Lakes.

The storm will be over the Great Lakes on Friday: The storm will continue to produce heavy snow across much of the Midwest. Portions of Michigan could pick up more than a foot of snow by Friday, making travel impossible at times.

Heavy rain will also blanket much of the I-95 corridor. Even in places where the snow has ended, strong winds will continue to blow 30 to 40 mph across much of the Midwest and into the Northeast.

Friday night into Saturday morning, New England will get a quick shot of snow and windy conditions.

Areas from eastern Montana through the Dakotas will experience the coldest air beginning Thursday morning. Temperatures will be running 40 degrees below normal for these places. The combination of cold temperatures and windy conditions will send wind chills as low as 50 degrees below zero.

Rapid City, South Dakota, will feel like 45 degrees below zero on Thursday morning. By Friday morning, Chicago’s wind chill will bottom out at 30 degrees below zero.

Even the South will be dangerously cold. Nashville and Atlanta’s wind chill will drop to minus-11 on Saturday morning and Birmingham, Alabama, will feel like minus-5.

Birmingham as well as Jackson, Mississippi, will both spend more than 80 hours below freezing between Friday and Monday. Houston could sit below freezing for 46 hours between Thursday and Saturday.

The cold temperatures will stay through Christmas weekend, before finally moderating next week.

As the Arctic surge pushes south and a “bomb cyclone” develops, more than 90 million people are under winter and wind chill alerts as of Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The wind chill alerts for dangerous, “life-threatening” cold stretch from the US-Canada border to the US-Mexico border. Wind chills across Montana and the Dakotas during the day Wednesday were as cold as 50 to 60 degrees below zero.

Temperatures will continue to plummet as the Arctic front moves south. Temperatures in Denver, Colorado, which were around 50 degrees Wednesday afternoon, are expected to drop to 10 degrees below zero by daybreak Thursday. Cheyenne, Wyoming, recently dropped 32 degrees in just eight minutes.

As the bomb cyclone develops, snow has been spreading over the Midwest and winter weather alerts associated with the storm extend from Idaho to Upstate New York. Blizzard warnings are in effect in parts of the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan where travel conditions will become difficult to impossible as the storm peaks Thursday into Friday.

Major cities like Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis-St.Paul and Detroit are under winter storm warnings for heavy snow and near-blizzard conditions.