There’s an Arctic Outbreak across most of the USA this week, and Charleston is in its path. Golden Glow may briefly experience freezing air temperatures for the first time in her life. Fortunately, the water she’s lying in is still 60 degrees, which we’ve been advised will keep her warm enough so that her all-important systems will not be harmed by the cold. 

We were curious about what caused such frigid air south of the Mason Dixon Line before Thanksgiving. Turns out the culprit was a super cyclone called Nuri that started far away in the South Pacific. Nuri was powerful enough to surge up through the Bering Strait and into Canada and then push this huge mass of cold air down into the US.  One commentator said Nuri had the effect of “snapping a garden hose” speeding her energy along this long line.

This image, taken by a NASA satellite last Thursday, shows Nuri heading for Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

The Weather Channel reported that Cyclone Nuri is one of the lowest-pressure systems on record in the North Pacific — a “monster storm.”

The graphic below, made from maps created by NOAA, shows temperatures dropping across the whole US last week. The purple colors are below freezing.

The National Weather Service predicts many temperatures in the USA will drop 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit below their normal averages. Brrr!!