The current windchill is in the 40’s all the way down to north Florida and the Texas Gulf Coast. And those figures are 80 degrees warmer than what Minot, North Dakota is seeing tonight. This chilly intrusion is illustrated by a very strong jet streak in the southeastern US and a trough angled from the Great Lakes to the southwest.

The jet underscores the cold air, and the angle of the trough is keeping the pattern in place. Persistence often leads to problems, as whatever conditions are held in place can wear down infrastructure. The precipitation associated with this storm is off shore, so flooding is not a concern. The growing cold will continue to be a concern for the next couple of days.

The real problem, of course, is that it is holding a dry, windy pattern over southern California. A lot of us in the Midwest are hoping for a warm up. Californians may not know it, but they will too. Recovery may not really start until that big trough clears out and the pattern changes. Right now, that looks like Wednesday. Hang in there.