Polar vortex brings its bitter cold to the Southern U.S.

Polar vortex brings subfreezing temperatures, snow to southern U.S., causing power outages and travel disruptions.

The plunging polar vortex brought subfreezing temperatures Tuesday (January 7, 2025) to some of the southernmost points of the U.S., threatening to dump snow on parts of Texas and Oklahoma in coming days and contributing to a power outage in Virginia's capital that made the water unsafe to drink.

The arctic blast that descended on much of the U.S. east of the Rockies over the weekend has caused hundreds of car accidents, thousands of flight cancellations and delays, and led communities to set up warming shelters, including one at a roller rink and another in the Providence, Rhode Island City Council chambers.

As the cold front moved southward, it prompted a cold weather advisory for the Gulf Coast and pushed the low temperature in El Paso, along Texas' border with Mexico, to 31 degrees (minus 0.5 Celsius), with an expected wind chill factor ranging from 0 to 15 degrees (minus 18 to minus 9 Celsius) early Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Road crews in the Kansas City area, which received about 11 inches (28 centimeters) of snow in recent days, have struggled to keep up with clearing streets and highways.

“I don’t know what super powers some think snow removal teams have but 2 days of straight snow & ice isn’t going to disappear overnight,” the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, wrote Monday on Facebook.

In frigid northern Virginia, Carol Grayson said Monday that she wished she had a metal shovel — not her plastic one — while trying to carve a path for her beagle, Rudy, and sheltie, Emma.

The great-grandmother, who declined to give her age, said shoveling through nearly frozen snow up to her knees was “like climbing Mount Everest.” Her neighborhood in Alexandria was once populated with teenagers who’d offer to help. But they’ve all grown up and moved away.