Polar Vortex Hits with a Vengeance

Polar Vortex with Life-Threatening Low Temps Targets Midwest and Northeast:
More than 20 million Americans are in the path of a brutal winter storm and life-threatening low temperatures Monday, with blizzard and winter storm warnings in effect across the Midwest. More than a foot of snow is expected in some areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

More than 800 flights are canceled in the region. A "polar vortex" bringing record low temperatures will hit millions from the Midwest to the Northeast this week. By Wednesday, at least 55 million people will face temperatures at zero or below.

In Highland Park, Illinois, up to nine inches of snow is expected. With dangerously low temperatures rolling in, and wind chill temps reaching about negative 50 degrees, anyone outside risks getting frostbite, reports CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds.

The arctic blast punished travelers across the middle of the country. In Erie, Pennsylvania, white-out conditions caused a mess on major highways. Plows were working overtime in Cedar Rapids, Iowa overnight where heavy snow made roads nearly impassable for drivers.

...In the week ahead, the Chicago area could see the coldest temperatures in decades. Chicago saw its lowest temperatures at negative 27 in 1985, and we could be in that range on Wednesday.
Emergency warming shelters are being set up all around the affected areas for those who aren't sufficiently protected from the cold. If you need help, or know someone who needs help, accessing emergency shelter, call emergency services. It is a legitimate and urgent emergency to shelter from these extreme temperatures.

It's going to get down to 6 degrees here (outside Philly) on Thursday. And it will be below freezing for almost all the time until then. Everyone please send good thoughts into the universe for our HVAC system, which has been on the fritz all winter, and which multiple HVAC specialists haven't been able to fix.

How's everyone else doing?

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