Up to 140 million Americans are bracing themselves for a spell of potentially record-breaking arctic weather. The “polar vortex” has already caused havoc across North America, resulting in 16 deaths and over 3,700 cancelled flights.
Temperatures in the north and central United States could plummet to -60F with wind chill. New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts have been badly hit by the Arctic weather and Boston has had to endure snow drifts of 18 inches.
When it comes to the coldest regions of the United States, it probably comes as no surprise that Alaska is out in front with average monthly temperatures of 32.13F. The coldest ever temperature recorded there was -80F at Prospect Creek in 1971.
North Dakota and Maine have the second and third lowest average monthly temperatures with 40.33F and 40.97F respectively. The coldest temperature on record in North Dakota is -60F while the coldest ever temperature in Maine is -48F. The brutal cold spell could result in several broken records by the end of the week.
U.S. Bracing for Record Breaking Cold Spell
Description
This chart shows the coldest U.S. states by average monthly and coldest ever temperatures.
