Northeastern US feels the big chill

The northeastern United States has just had its coldest Valentine's Day on record - but milder air is forecast to arrive by the middle of the week.

The dangerously cold weather extended from New York through much of New England. In fact, wind chill warnings and advisories were issued across nine states from northern Pennsylvania to western Maine, with winds gusting around 70 kilometres per hour.

The temperature dipped to a bitter -40C on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, on Sunday morning.

New York's Central Park set a new Valentine's Day record with an overnight low of -18C. The last time temperatures dipped below -17C there was January 1994.

The park's temperature struggled to reach a high of -10C. The February average is nearer 6C.

The severe cold actually affected a good part of the Midwest, too, resulting in a massive pile-up on Indiana's Interstate 65 involving more than 60 vehicles.

Thankfully, the cold spell is expected to be very short-lived. We currently have an area of low pressure spilling heavy rain across Texas and Louisiana.

This weather system is forecast to sweep across the deep South and move up the Eastern seaboard. There will be snow on its northern flank for a time as it moves into Washington DC and up into New York.

There may even be flooding for a time around the Mid-Atlantic states. New York is likely to see temperatures approaching a rather wet 13C by Tuesday.

This will represent a 23 degree rise in temperature in just two days.
Source: Al Jazeera
15/2/16