Southern Texas and Louisiana are contending with a rare bout of freezing rain and frigid temperatures Friday, as a massive winter system settles in over much of the central and eastern United States, promising bitterly cold temperatures extending into February.
Sheets of ice on bridges and overpasses made for a treacherous commute Friday morning in San Antonio and Houston, Tex. and as far east as Lake Charles, La., The Weather Channel reports. Ice and some snow are expected to build up in some areas, though authorities don’t anticipate extensive power outages.
Across the United States—including at least some part of all 50 states, Hawaii among them—temperatures will drop to below freezing Friday morning. In much of the country, the cold is not expected to let up for the rest of the month.
Day after day of frozen arctic air pummeling the lower 48 states is making for some peculiar comparisons. Anyone hoping to escape the cold might look north rather than south over the next few days—parts of Alaska are 30 degrees warmer than normal this week, and the average temperature for the entire state was two degrees warmer than that for the lower 48.