Winter storms leave thousands without power in Pacific Northwest and Canada records -51°C as Southern states swelter in record breaking temperatures

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Pacific Northwest winter storm
Pacific Northwest winter storm on December 27 2021

Thousands of customers were without power Monday as storms pummeled the Pacific Northwest — forcing several highways in Northern California and Nevada to close, with travel warnings issued in the snow-lashed Sierra Nevada.

The National Weather Service said significant snowfall hit West Coast mountain ranges and the Intermountain West, with record cold weather in some West Coast areas. Meanwhile, the U.S. South was experiencing “unusually warm temperatures,” with dozens of cities in the lower 48 states on track for their warmest December on record.

In the map below, you can visualize the ludicrous Christmas temperature contrast in North America. Many records are being smashed. We are likely witnessing the warmest December in recorded history for several States. Meanwhile Canada hunkers down under brutal cold.

The mixing of unusually warm temperatures, low humidity levels and windy conditions prompted the NWS’ Storm Prediction Center to issue a critical fire weather warning across parts of the central and southern High Plains, including the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles.

As Southern states sweltered, wintry conditions were impacting cities from San Diego to Seattle — with the NWS issuing winter storm warnings for greater Lake Tahoe and other parts of California that it said extended “as far south as the Transverse Range of Southern California.”

In Nevada, crews in the Reno area responded to two separate pileups.

One involved 20 cars that resulted in at least three patients being taken to the hospital, according to local authorities.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered state offices to remain closed on Monday due to the forecast of more heavy snow and wind, as police and the state Department of Transportation reported “dangerous road conditions in Carson City, Washoe County and Douglas County areas,” per a statement from the governor.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency on Thursday in response to the storm, which is due to remain in effect through Jan. 3.

On Monday morning, nearly 18,000 customers were without power in California, per poweroutage.us.

Outages also affected almost 13,000 in Alaska, as heavy snow and freezing rain lashed the state, and another 5,000-plus in Washington state, according to the tracking service.

Meanwhile, Texas and Oklahoma were seeing temperatures in the 90s — with Wichita Falls, near Texas’ border with Oklahoma, hitting a record 91 degrees on Friday, the NWS reports.

“Houston/Hobby broke the previous record of 82 degrees and reached 83 degrees,” the NWS said Sunday. “Galveston tied their daily high temperature record of 78.”

More high temperature records are expected to fall from Oklahoma to North Carolina and points southward on Monday and Tuesday.

Christmas Day was unusually mild across much of the Central and eastern U.S., with five states setting preliminary all-time high temperature records for the day.

Meanwhile, another storm is heading to the Pacific Northwest again… “Measurable and disruptive snowfall accumulations are also on tap again in the Pacific Northwest, including in both the Portland and Seattle metro areas,” the NWS said in its forecast.

“This stretch of wintry weather is able to occur thanks to frigid temperatures, some of which may tie or break record cold highs and lows going through Tuesday.”

From the southern Plains to the Mid-South, residents could expect to see temperatures 25 to 35 degrees above normal.

Another storm system already causing heavy mountain snow along the West Coast on Monday was expected to hit the Sierra Nevada with another 1 to 2 feet of snow, with totals up to 3 feet possible in the highest elevations.

“From the Wasatch to the Colorado Rockies, mountain snow totals appear to be on the order of 8 to 12 inches with localized amounts up to 2 feet,” the weather service said.

It is interesting to note that same huge temperature differences are also measured in Canada. The bone-chilling cold that has engulfed parts of northern and western Canada over the past few days continues to clench its iron grip on the region.

For the first time this season, on December 26 around 2:00 p.m. EST, a temperature of -51.1°C was recorded in Rabbit Kettle, Northwest Territories, while Louisbourg, Nova Scotia simultaneously became the warmest spot in the country at a balmy 4.6°C (40.3°F), which is an impressive national range of nearly 56 degrees.

Extreme temperature contrast in North America fuels a powerful jet stream which ultimately delivers excessive winter warmth to Europe.

Meanwhile, forget about skying in Europe as all the snow is actually melting!

Yes I think this is all connected! Look at these two videos of the jet stream and temperature in the lower atmosphere side-by-side

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6 Comments

  1. I live in NW Oregon. Every time snow is forecast, it is done with a state of hysteria, and then usually, turns out to be a big nothing-burger…so I expected as much this time…and so far, I’ve been right. Sunday we had such light snow you can still see the grass. Tuesday evening, a little light snow, still not even an inch. Today, it is almost melted. Forecast is for rain/snow mix for the rest of the week.

    Our governor, Kate Brown, is an idiot, hysterical Karen, who declares an emergency at the drop of a hat, so she has the power to make emergency orders. She recently was found to be the least popular governor in the country…an absolute embarrassment to Oregon. Three times we have come within a hair of a recall vote, but at the eleventh hour, the Oregon government has disqualified our petitions for a vote. It is an open-air insane asylum here. Oregon is circling the drain.

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