Rare winter storm grips U.S. South, kills at least five people

A rare winter storm gripped the U.S. South on Wednesday, killing five people, stranding children overnight at their schools, gnarling traffic across many states and canceling flights at the world's busiest airport.

At least five deaths in Alabama were blamed on the icy storm that slammed the region from Texas through Georgia and the Carolinas.

Forecasters predicted little relief from the ice on Wednesday, with temperatures unlikely to rise much above freezing for long enough to thaw roads and bridges, before freezing again early Thursday across the Southeast.

"We are all in this together and we will get through it together," read a statement from police in Anniston, Alabama. "What was to be a simple dusting (of snow) has turned into something more. None of us were prepared."

Airlines canceled thousands of flights from Houston to Atlanta, with some 500 alone halted early Wednesday at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport.

The wintry mix of snow, sleet and ice had moved further to the southeast Wednesday, to southeast Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia, according to forecasters at The Weather Channel.

In Virginia, up to 10 inches of snow fell overnight in some parts of the state, said meteorologists at Accuweather.com. Two inches of sleet pelted North Carolina by Wednesday morning.

Snow Hits Northern Florida

Sections of major roadways remained closed in Louisiana near New Orleans, including the 24-mile Causeway Bridge spanning Lake Pontchartrain.

Authorities rescued about 50 schoolchildren in Atlanta, whose buses were stranded overnight on an icy roadway, district officials said.

Hundreds of other students remained sheltered in schools and other locations, their parents unable to reach them after being stuck in an epic traffic snarl that continued for more than 12 hours along the I-75 highway and nearby roadways.

At E. Rivers Elementary School in Atlanta, 95 students were stranded and stayed overnight on Tuesday, Principal Matt Rogers told Reuters.

"We're feeding them, we're watching movies, eating pizza," he told Reuters early Wednesday. "We just had breakfast. It's like a sleepover."

Their overnight adventure was shared by two parents who were unable to leave after they had arrived to pick up their children, he said.

"I had some parents who were in their cars for seven hours to go seven miles," Rogers said.

In Birmingham, Alabama, about 800 students remained stranded in their schools early Wednesday, Birmingham Mayor William Bell said. Teachers stayed with them, giving them food and water, he said.

"We realize that is not good enough for parents who want to hold their children in their arms," Bell said. "We are doing all we can to reunite children with their parents."

Polar Vortex #3 Hits Florida Snow Could fall as far south as Florida

A blast of frigid air will grip most of the eastern half of the United States into midweek.

The impending polar plunge will rival the frigid days from earlier this January for the coldest daytime highs and nighttime lows so far this winter in parts of the Midwest and interior Northeast.

The arctic air first plunged into the Upper Midwest, northern Plains and northern Rockies on Sunday and continued to press to the Gulf and Atlantic coasts on Tuesday.

The magnitude of this cold blast will be enough to produce a far-reaching threat of frostbite, hypothermia, frozen pipes and water main breaks.

Care should also be taken to ensure that livestock and other animals housed outdoors have adequate shelter.
Especially across the Midwest and Northeast, officials may decide to cancel or delay school due to the extreme cold. Some vehicles may struggle or fail to start.

While highs will be held to the 30s southward to the I-10 corridor, the Midwest and Northeast will experience the harshest conditions.

Temperatures plunged below zero Tuesday morning from central Montana to northern Maine, southward to eastern Colorado, areas along the Ohio River and into the mountains of Pennsylvania, western Maryland and West Virginia.

Across much of the Midwest and the interior Northeast, high temperatures will be held to the single digits and teens on Tuesday with some areas over the northern tier states remaining below zero.


Temperatures are forecast to rebound over portions of the northern Plains and the Midwest on Wednesday, but they will remain at frigid levels in much of the Northeast and the interior South.

Snow is in the forecast for parts of the Florida Panhandle, but freezing rain is likely to be a bigger threat over a larger area of the state Tuesday afternoon. The Storm should move in to Florida later Tuesday, bringing freezing rain and — for some — snow. That's unusual for Florida. The worsening weather will be dangerous for driving, and accumulating ice could cause power lines to snap. People living south of I-10 may see snow flurries, but accumulation is unlikely.

Escambia County will be in a state of emergency from midnight Tuesday until midnight Wednesday. Schools there will close and non-essential employees will not report to work. Schools will also be closed in Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County Tuesday and Wednesday. The University of West Florida and Pensacola State College will also be closed Tuesday as well as NASA's Johnson Space Center

This weeks Cold Spell Was The Coldest since 1994.

When computer models estimated that the national average daily temperature for the Lower 48 states dropped to 17.9 degrees on Monday, it was the first deep freeze of that magnitude in 17 years, according to

Greg Carbin, warning meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That stretch — from Jan. 13, 1997 to Monday — is by far the longest the U.S. has gone without the national average plunging below 18 degrees, according to a database of daytime winter temperatures starting in January 1900.

In the past 115 years, there have been 58 days when the national average temperature dropped below 18. Carbin said those occurrences often happen in periods that last several days so it makes more sense to talk about cold outbreaks instead of cold days. There have been 27 distinct cold snaps.

Between 1970 and 1989, a dozen such events occurred, but there were only two in the 1990s and then none until Monday.

"These types of events have actually become more infrequent than they were in the past," said Carbin, who works at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. "This is why there was such a big buzz because people have such short memories."

And Monday's breathtaking chill? It was merely the 55th coldest day — averaged for the continental United States — since 1900.

The coldest day for the Lower 48 since 1900 — as calculated by the computer models — was 12 degrees on Christmas Eve 1983, nearly 6 degrees chillier than Monday.

The average daytime winter temperature is about 33 degrees, according to Carbin's database.

There have been far more unusually warm winter days in the U.S. than unusually cold ones.

Since Jan. 1, 2000, only two days have ranked in the top 100 coldest: Monday and Tuesday. But there have been 13 in the top 100 warmest winter days, including the warmest since 1900: Dec. 3, 2012.                                                                                              

Sun's magnetic field flips

Something huge just reverberated throughout the universe, and you probably didn't even notice: The magnetic field of the sun flipped.

Sometime in the last couple months, the sun's north and south poles completed a swap of negative and positive charges, said Todd Hoeksema, a solar physicist and director of Stanford University 's Wilcox Solar Observatory, which has tracked the sun's magnetic field since 1976.

This reversal affects the entire solar system.

The reversal of the sun's magnetic field happens every 11 years. The flip is associated with increased solar activity, including explosions on the sun's surface that can send electrified particles toward Earth.

In the past, these explosions have created electrical disturbances that impact power grids, flight communications and GPS units, said Alex Young, associate director for the heliophysics science division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

These disturbances could occur again, but it's unlikely, Hoeksema said, noting that the current solar cycle is the weakest in 100 years.

One of the most notable magnetic storms was in 1989. It caused a blackout in the entire province of Quebec, Canada. In October 2003, the "Halloween storms" created power disruptions in Sweden and South Africa.

Power companies have prepared for these types of magnetic space storms, Hoeksema said, and the public should rest assured there is no health danger

Record Lows For Southern Lower Michigan tonight.

Midnight 1/7/14 temps across Southern Lower Michigan. The all time record low for Detroit -24 set 12/24/1872. Some areas could get very close to that temp tonight.

Wind Chills Warning continues.  Current Wind Chills as of  Midnight 1/7/14.  

Michigan snowstorm snow totals

The main part of the snowstorm is over. Now the lake effect snow will develop. Here is a map showing how much snow fell during the past 48 hours with this recent snowstorm.

Flint's snowfall total is in, and it is the third largest snowstorm in Flint since records began in 1921. Flint is recording 17.1 inches of snow so far with this storm.

The heaviest snow fell in a stretch from just east of Kalamazoo northeast through the Lansing area and into northern Oakland county and the Flint area. 15 to 18 inches of snow fell in that stretch.

Preliminary totals indicate between eight and ten inches in Detroit and it's southern suburbs, Ann Arbor, Bay City, Saginaw, Midland, and Grand Rapids. 10-18 inches fell in Detroit's northern suburbs.  

Jackson had between 12 and 15 inches of snow.

Muskegon had around six inches of snow.

LOCATION SNOWFALL DURATION  (INCHES) (HOURS) LAT LON

BAY COUNTY
 PINCONNING M 5.0 30 43.86N 83.96W
 NE BAY CITY M 7.0 30 43.59N 83.89W

GENESEE COUNTY
 GOODRICH M 11.8 30 42.92N 83.51W
 4 N BURTON M 13.2 30 43.05N 83.62W
 1 SE GRAND BLANC M 13.9 30 42.92N 83.60W
 FLUSHING M 14.5 30 43.06N 83.84W
 LINDEN M 16.0 30 42.82N 83.78W
 FLINT M 17.1 30 43.02N 83.69W
 2 W SWARTZ CREEK M 18.0 30 42.96N 83.87W

HURON COUNTY
 PORT AUSTIN M 5.0 30 44.04N 83.00W
 BAD AXE M 5.2 30 43.80N 83.00W
 GRINDSTONE CITY M 7.5 30 44.05N 82.90W
 PORT HOPE M 13.4 30 43.94N 82.72W

LAPEER COUNTY
 4 W LAPEER M 16.5 30 43.05N 83.40W
 NORTH BRANCH M 17.0 30 43.23N 83.19W

LENAWEE COUNTY
 6 ENE ADRIAN M 8.0 30 41.93N 83.94W
 ADRIAN M 8.0 12 41.90N 84.04W
 2 WNW TIPTON M 8.9 30 42.03N 84.10W
 MORENCI M 12.0 30 41.72N 84.22W

LIVINGSTON COUNTY
 3 NW PINCKNEY M 11.7 30 42.49N 83.99W
 WHITMORE LAKE M 13.0 30 42.43N 83.75W
 HOWELL M 14.0 30 42.61N 83.94W
 HOWELL M 15.9 30 42.61N 83.94W
 2 W FOWLERVILLE M 17.5 30 42.66N 84.11W

MACOMB COUNTY
 MOUNT CLEMENS M 6.5 24 42.60N 82.88W
 CENTER LINE M 7.5 30 42.48N 83.03W
 4 NNW RICHMOND M 8.5 30 42.86N 82.78W
 SSE NEW BALTIMORE M 9.8 30 42.68N 82.74W
 UTICA M 10.0 30 42.63N 83.02W
 1 NNW UTICA M 10.5 30 42.64N 83.03W
 SHELBY TOWNSHIP M 11.0 30 42.67N 83.03W

MIDLAND COUNTY
 2 ENE MIDLAND M 5.2 30 43.63N 84.19W
 MIDLAND M 6.0 30 43.62N 84.23W

MONROE COUNTY
 3 SE NEWPORT M 8.6 30 41.97N 83.27W
 MONROE M 8.9 30 41.92N 83.39W
 4 SSE NEWPORT M 9.6 30 41.95N 83.28W
 MONROE M 9.8 30 41.92N 83.39W  DUNDEE M 10.0 30 41.96N 83.66W
 TEMPERANCE M 11.0 M 41.77N 83.57W
 CARLETON M 13.0 30 42.06N 83.39W

OAKLAND COUNTY
 FARMINGTON M 6.7 30 42.46N 83.38W
 2 N FERNDALE M 7.1 30 42.49N 83.13W
 FARMINGTON HILLS M 8.1 30 42.49N 83.38W
 3 SW BLOOMFIELD HILLS M 8.5 30 42.55N 83.29W
 PONTIAC M 9.1 30 42.65N 83.29W
 E WHITE LAKE M 9.9 30 42.65N 83.50W
 5 N ROCHESTER M 11.1 30 42.76N 83.12W
 CLARKSTON M 12.0 30 42.74N 83.42W
 4 SSE LAKE ORION M 12.9 30 42.73N 83.21W
 FARMINGTON HILLS M 13.2 30 42.49N 83.38W
 WATERFORD M 14.5 30 42.66N 83.39W
 4 E WHITE LAKE M 14.6 30 42.65N 83.43W
 CLARKSTON M 15.3 30 42.74N 83.42W

SAGINAW COUNTY
 5 S MERRILL M 6.8 30 43.34N 84.34W
 FREELAND M 8.3 30 43.52N 84.12W
 3 NW SAGINAW M 8.4 30 43.45N 83.99W
 2 E FREELAND M 8.8 30 43.52N 84.08W
 BRIDGEPORT M 9.3 30 43.38N 83.88W
 HEMLOCK M 10.5 30 43.42N 84.23W
 3 ESE BIRCH RUN M 11.0 24 43.23N 83.74W

SANILAC COUNTY
 LEXINGTON M 9.7 30 43.27N 82.53W
 SANDUSKY M 13.0 30 43.42N 82.83W
 2 W PECK M 16.0 30 43.26N 82.86W

SHIAWASSEE COUNTY
 CORUNNA M 16.4 30 42.98N 84.12W
 OWOSSO M 18.7 30 43.00N 84.18W

ST. CLAIR COUNTY
 2 W PORT HURON M 10.6 30 42.99N 82.47W
 ALGONAC M 10.6 30 42.62N 82.53W
 GOODELLS M 11.0 30 42.98N 82.68W
 FORT GRATIOT M 13.0 M 43.01N 82.43W

TUSCOLA COUNTY
 CARO M 9.9 30 43.49N 83.40W
 3 E DEFORD M 14.0 30 43.52N 83.13W
 MILLINGTON M 16.0 30 43.28N 83.53W

WASHTENAW COUNTY
 MILAN M 8.0 30 42.09N 83.68W
 CHELSEA M 9.5 30 42.31N 84.02W
 2 WNW ANN ARBOR M 10.0 30 42.29N 83.77W
 SALINE M 10.2 30 42.18N 83.78W
 SE ANN ARBOR M 10.3 30 42.28N 83.73W
 ANN ARBOR M 10.4 30 42.28N 83.73W
 DEXTER M 11.7 30 42.33N 83.88W
 ENE DEXTER M 12.0 30 42.33N 83.88W  CHELSEA M 14.0 30 42.31N 84.02W

WAYNE COUNTY
 GROSSE POINTE M 7.6 30 42.39N 82.91W
 4 NE DEARBORN M 7.8 30 42.35N 83.16W
 LIVONIA M 8.0 30 42.40N 83.37W
 2 NNW LIVONIA M 8.4 30 42.42N 83.39W
 N LIVONIA M 8.4 30 42.40N 83.37W
 GARDEN CITY M 9.4 M 42.33N 83.33W
 BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP M 9.5 30 42.15N 83.26W
 WYANDOTTE M 9.9 30 42.21N 83.16W
 RIVERVIEW M 10.5 30 42.17N 83.19W
 ROMULUS M 10.6 30 42.22N 83.37W

Perihelion, What is it?

Very Cold Air Continues Across The Midwest and Michigan As We Begin 2014

Although we have turned the calendar, we have not turned our weather any warmer with a very cold start to open up 2014.

Detroit Area Forecast for 1/2/14 to 1//8/14

The heart of the cold air over our region Thursday morning was across eastern portions of the Eastern Upper Peninsula with -27F reported at Raber and a -22F temperature at Pickford. Northeast of Sault Ste. Marie across Ontario, temperatures fell as low as -42F Thursday morning. In the Lower Peninsula Pellston fell to -12F with Beaver Island down to -6F. Cheboygan and Indian River both woke up to -5F.

Even though it remains chilly, Northern Michigan gets a brief respite from the snow for the majority of us Thursday into Friday with breaks developing in the clouds leading to a rare treat, some sunshine. Northeast winds have for the time being pushed lake effect snow offshore into Wisconsin.

Temperatures in Southern Lower Michigan will not be much better.  Temperatures next week will struggle to reach 0 Degrees on Tuesday. 

Great Lakes are freezing over.  The white areas indicate where there is still open water.