Nationwide arctic blast set to bring temperatures even lower — with 15 states at risk for new record

A powerful arctic blast is on track to impact over 200 million Americans, bringing temperatures even colder than the last wave. 

Over 30 record lows could fall across 15 states later this week, as many cities will see consecutive days of below-freezing temperatures leading up to Thursday and Friday.  

Millions of Americans have already felt portions of this bitter arctic air from the Polar Vortex sweeping across the country.

When there is a disruption in the Vortex, it becomes weak and pushes colder air south towards Canada and the US.

On top of a La Niña winter, this has caused us to see typical temperatures for early February to appear in December.

This new wave of Arctic air is tracking to be even more extreme than what most of the country saw on Monday, where a Cold Weather Advisory was in effect for northern Montana and wind chills caused it to feel 20 to 30 degrees below zero. 

According to the FOX Weather Center, this new wave of Arctic air is set to surge across the country today, where colder temperatures will begin to take effect.

Many areas will stay at or below freezing, as the coldest air will linger over the High Plains and Upper Midwest, leaving cities like Chicago and Minneapolis to likely not climb above freezing for the duration of the week. 

By Thursday and Friday, things will take an even bigger shift, as the weather pattern evolves, ushering in a stronger blast of colder Arctic air. The push will be even more frigid due to the colder temperatures leading up to the big blast.

The Midwest will be the focal point for the coldest temperatures on Thursday, with the widespread outlook readings between 10 and below zero. 

Iowa could reign in as a potential record-breaker for lows in cities such as Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, and Waterloo.

By Friday, the heart of the cold will expand to the I-95 corridor, where more record lows may fall across cities like Pittsburgh, New York, Indianapolis and Baltimore. 

Morning temperatures across the Midwest and Great Lakes will be in the single digits, while the I-95 corridor will reach the upper 20s, making it 15 to 25 degrees below average for this time of year. 

In total, over 40 record low temperatures are possible across the Northern Tier for both Thursday and Friday and below-average temperatures are expected to remain in some regions through mid-December.