Environment

Two-Thirds of the U.S. Is About to Get Really Cold

One expert explains the "polar vortex" as a pack of wild dogs.
Darker-blue areas have a high probability of below-average temperatures in the next six to 10 days.NOAA

Now would be a good time to buy stock in long underwear. A titanic wave of Arctic air is crashing over America, and by Thursday it will drag temperatures down to 10 to 20 degrees below average.

The cold surge will eventually spread over two-thirds of the nation. It could take temperatures from 80 degrees yesterday to 42 today in Oklahoma City. In parts of Idaho, it's expected to drive the mercury down to zero. Forecasters in Chicago are saying it could make this month "one of the colder Novembers on record." Boston meteorologists believe the chill will last "through at least next week," and New York expects a below-freezing weekend.