Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Northwest Iowa not spared from polar vortex's frigid grip
Dueling thermometers at Savings Bank and United Community Bank in Hartley showed a 3-degree split on Monday at around 8 a.m., but whichever one was right didn't really matter – it was darn cold and that's all anyone really needed to know.
United Community Bank's thermometer in downtown Hartley showed a temperature of -18 on Monday morning.
Some folks might blame it on the groundhog, but the recent cold snap freezing northwest Iowa and the greater United States has only one culprit.
The polar vortex paid the lower 48 a visit over the past week, plunging temps well below zero throughout the Midwest. Northwest Iowa wasn't spared and daily highs didn't surpass a goose egg during the coldest days.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Sioux Falls, overnight wind chills on Feb. 15 dipped to -40 in Lake Park, -38 in Spencer and -42 in Cherokee. Morning temps that day were as low as -31 in Lake Park, with the warmest local temp being recorded in Wahpeton at -18. Hartley clocked in at -21 on Monday.
Sioux Falls' previous record low temp of -21 set in 1909 was shattered Monday at -26. Sioux City recorded a temperature of -28, which crushed the previous record of -20 set in 1936.
According to the NWS, the polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth's poles. It always exists near the poles, but weakens in summer and strengthens in winter. The term "vortex" refers to the counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the poles. Many times during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand and send cold air southward with the jet stream.
Luckily, relief from the bitter cold is on its way. High temperatures are forecasted to reach the high 20s and low 30s this weekend.
