Timeline for Massachusetts’ Arctic Surge to Leave
Massachusetts has been really cold lately. Sure, it’s the wintertime, so one would expect cold weather. But, the area has been exceptionally cold the past few days and weeks, due to an arctic blast that’s come into the U.S. We’re not alone, either, because this blast of arctic temperatures is hitting much of the U.S. It may seem like the area has been coming up against frigid temperatures forever, and while it’s not been forever, it’s been a long stretch. The good news is that it can’t last forever, and weather experts are saying there’s an end in sight for these unusually cold temperatures.
How Long the Cold Temps Will Last in Massachusetts
Looking at Boston, Massachusetts, in particular, the weather experts at the Weather Channel predict that lows will remain in the teens through Friday, January 24. It’s expected to start getting warmer over the weekend, but we’re not talking bikini weather. Lows are still predicted to be in the 20s through the middle of next week, but at least highs will get into the 30s by Sunday, January 26, and remain there for a while.
So, what is an arctic blast, like the one the area has been experiencing? According to the experts at Scientific American, an arctic blast is when “cold air in the Arctic is trapped inside a high-altitude swirl of winds called the polar vortex, which is surrounded by a lower-altitude band called the polar jet stream.”
“The Arctic polar vortex is a band of strong westerly winds that forms in the stratosphere between about 10 and 30 miles above the North Pole every winter,” adds the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stating that “the winds enclose a large pool of extremely cold air.” The NOAA adds that, “the stronger the winds, the more the air inside is isolated from warmer latitudes, and the colder it gets.”
If you’re traveling during these very cold conditions, even if you aren’t in a snowstorm, you should take precautions. FEMA says to keep an emergency supply kit in your vehicle. They add to include items such as jumper cables; flares or reflective triangles; an ice scraper; a snow shovel; a cellphone charger; blankets; a map; cat litter or sand (for better tire traction); a flashlight; and water. They also urge you to have your headlights on, even in the daytime, because snowy roads can lead to poor visibility, “and using your headlights to see and be seen by other drivers is critical.”
