Another Arctic Blast To Rip Through The US, As Snow Cover Stands At Record-Breaking 58.9%; Russia's -70F Freeze To Descend On China; Antarctica Chills; + Solar Lull Continues

US snow cover highest-ever for January, in record books dating back to 2004.

Another Arctic Blast To Rip Through The US, As Snow Cover Stands At Record-Breaking 58.9%

A little something for the weekend, America — a second round of brutal polar cold.

Historic low temperatures and a series of severe winter storms have already wreaked havoc across many US states, killing at least 50 people, destroying properties and leaving hundreds-of-thousands without power.

Kansas City, for example, kicked-off a record run of freezing weather back on Jan 11.

Records started falling on Jan 14, when both the low and min-max —of -12F and -3F, respectively— broke the old marks of -10F and 0F from 1979.

Jan 15 then delivered a low of -16F and a daily high of 2F, which bested the -10F from 1979 and the 6F from 1972.

Kansas City posted sub -10F lows for four consecutive nights (Jan 13-16), which made for the second-longest run in weather books dating back to the 1888, behind only the five days registered in 1983.

According to NWS data, that -3F on Jan 14 made for the 11th-coldest daily high for the Kansas City Area since 1888. While the -16F low posted in the early hours of Jan 15 tied for the 16th-coldest temperature for the Area, again since 1888.

“It's COLD in Kansas City, but Mahomes and the Chiefs are ready” — SportsCenter on X.

A second Polar Outbreak is now barreling into the US, expected to run Friday through Sunday. It has already walloped the likes of Vancouver, Canada with 27.2cm (10.71 inches) of snow on Jan 18 alone, the highest daily total since Dec 29, 1996.

The NWS has issued additional alerts for snow and ice, as the country faces one of its coldest Januaries on record.

A fallen powerline in Oregon, during a severe ice storm, electrocuted two adults and a teenager on Wednesday. The majority of the other 50 reported deaths were caused by either hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning or car accidents—including a tractor-trailer that hit and killed five women in Pennsylvania who were at the scene of a minivan crash on Interstate 81.

There is snow on the ground in 49 of the 50 US states.

Plus Alaska, of course, which is experiencing a record-snowy season, but also Hawaii. Also, rare snowfall was reported in Florida on Jan 17, though it may not have settled.

A whopping 58.9% of the Lower-48 is currently covered in snow. Note, at this time last year, during the West's all-time record-smashing season, that figure stood at 35.5%.

Moreover, the current 58.9% snow cover stands as the highest-ever January reading in books dating back to 2004. Today's level is only bested by the exceptional run of February 15 - 19, 2021, when cover topped out at 73.2%.