Cold snap felt in western half of US

A rare wintry storm pushing through the western half of the United States is bringing bitterly cold temperatures that prompted safety warnings for residents and threatening crops.

Western states like Montana and the Dakotas are forecast to reach lows in the minus-20s. Parts of California which usually have mild temperatures could see the thermometer drop to the 20s.

The icy arctic blast was expected to be followed by another one later in the week, creating an extended period of cold weather that hasn’t been seen since the late 1990s, meteorologists said.

Weather officials warned residents to protect themselves against frostbite if they are going to be outside for any length of time.

AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines said Tuesday that the jet stream is much farther south than normal, allowing the cold air to push in from the Arctic and drop temperatures by 20 to 40 degrees below normal levels.

“When it gets this cold, you don’t need 30, 40 mile-per-hour winds to get that wind chill down to dangerous levels. All it takes is a little breeze,” Kines said.

The storm hit the northern Rockies on Monday and Tuesday, dumping up to 2 feet of snow in the mountains and in Yellowstone National Park.

The cold was expected to keep pushing south and bring near-record low temperatures to parts of California.

AHT/ARA