By Savannah Hulsey Pointer
The first blast of Arctic air of the season pushed into the interior of the United States on Nov. 10. The cold air brought a chance of snow to large portions of the country and dropped temperatures as far south as Florida.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the Arctic air is present in the eastern two-thirds of the country.
The cold air in the Great Plains came with high winds, and parts of the Appalachian Mountains region could see up to eight inches of snow.
Residents in areas around Lake Erie were warned that they could experience lake-effect snow—a narrow band of intense snow that could dump snow in one area and completely miss another.
In Florida, the wind chill will be in the 30s, which is 10 degrees lower than the 40-degree threshold that could cause iguanas to lose control of their bodies and fall out of trees. The large lizards usually wake up when warmed again by the sun.
Travel conditions in northeast Illinois are being called “dangerous to impossible” by the NWS, which is predicting snow accumulation faster than 3 inches per hour.
A large swath of the middle of the nation could be in trouble for travel on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11, with warnings sent out for Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, where weather officials warned that visibility could drop drastically as up to a foot of snow falls on Monday.
Weather warnings were also issued for Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, and freezing temperatures are predicted from Texas to Georgia.
AccuWeather reported via X that “record lows are possible in several cities as a cold blast brings a sudden taste of winter for millions across Florida and the Southeast.”
In the video attached to the X post, AccuWeather Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said, “It’s even colder than January normally would be across the Southeast.”
Temperatures dropped into the 40s in southern cities like Atlanta and Birmingham, Alabama, and though temperatures will stay above freezing, it won’t feel like it. AccuWeather reported that the “RealFeel” temperatures will be below freezing all afternoon on Nov. 10.
Going through the night and into Tuesday, those same cities are expected to see record low temperatures, with the unusual cold spreading down into Florida, where in Fort Myers, it is expected to get so cold that it will likely break low temperature records set in the late 1800s.
AccuWeather reported the cold will move back toward normal levels on Tuesday afternoon, but Tuesday night into Wednesday, temperatures could still drop below freezing early.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are expected to return to normal temperatures.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
