Winter keeps stranglehold on much of U.S. with coast-coast snow, ice and bitter cold

ORLANDO, Fla. – This will be one of those weeks of winter when the rest of the nation looks at Florida with disgust.

While much of the nation is dealing with an Arctic outbreak, Florida will sit this round of winter out.

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A round of ice and snow will move up the eastern seaboard to start the weekend. Freezing rain will make travel difficult through much of Virginia Saturday.

A few strong storms will be possible in Florida with this storm.

Coast-to-coast storm

A new, high-impact, potentially historic storm is taking shape on the West Coast of the U.S. Snow and blizzard-like conditions are blasting the Pacific Northwest to start the weekend. As much as 6″ of snow could fall in Seattle, an area not known for the white stuff outside of the surrounding elevations. Nearby Portland could pick up double-digit snowfall amounts.

This storm will then dive south into the Southern Plains bringing with it more snow and ice. More than a foot of snow will be possible in North Texas through Oklahoma. Freezing rain is possible as far south as Houston and Corpus Christi.

This storm will also pull in a reinforcing shot of frigid, Arctic air bringing the coldest air not seen in three decades to parts of the Southern Plains. Wind chill values will be well below zero in parts of the South.

Brutally cold air will stay locked into the Upper Midwest with actual air temperatures falling to 30 degrees below zero in spots. Wind chill values will approach 50 below Sunday and Monday mornings.

Highs Monday in Florida will be in the 80s.

Snow and ice will once again be likely the Mississippi River Valley and Mid Atlantic as a result of the same storm Monday and Tuesday. Crippling amounts of ice will be possible just west of the Appalachians. More snow and ice will be likely in the Northeast.

The overall weather pattern looks to stay active through at least next weekend. Florida may get in on the winter fun by next weekend with a little more cold spilling down the peninsula.