Winter Storm Jett Pummels US, Leads to Flooding Deaths in Southeast

Thought Question: How do you prepare for unexpected weather changes in your daily life?

A massive winter storm named Jett swept across 30 US states over the weekend. In the Southeast, it brought flash flooding and high winds that left 10 people dead. In the North, it brought snow and ice storms that disturbed travel and downed power lines. It also dumped snowfall that threatened avalanches along the Rocky Mountains.  

Nine flooding victims died in Kentucky. A 10th was killed in Atlanta. The latter died when a tree fell on his house. Up to 1,000 people in Kentucky were rescued from the flooding. Officials called for evacuations also in Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. President Trump on Monday declared Kentucky an emergency disaster. Governor Andy Beshear asked for it.   

The system is forecast to bring in very cold weather. At least 13 states and 65 million in the US have been placed under cold weather alerts. The National Weather Service (NWS) said severe cold will sweep across the Upper West and Midwest through Tuesday. Then, it'll move southward. The NWS called for temps that are 45 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) below zero on Tuesday in Montana. And it may feel like 60°F below zero due to the wind chill. The Dakotas and Minnesota could see similar lows. 

Up to 100 record low temps could be broken between the Plains and Gulf Coast through Friday. Average temperatures across the region could fall 20-50 degrees lower than normal. Meteorologists said some states are getting hit by the coldest of 10 polar vortex events this winter. Typically, the US endures two or three such events during cold months. 

Some studies show that the melting of Arctic sea ice due to climate change is disrupting the large region of swirling cold air in the Arctic, pushing the polar vortex farther southward more often.  

Gif of winter weather from GIPHY.