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Arctic Freeze Hits North America

A powerful Arctic storm is pounding the USA and Canada with bitterly cold temperatures, blizzards, high winds, power cuts and travel disruption. Some ski resorts, which have already had several metres of snow so far this season, are warning of extreme conditions. UPDATED

The dangerous conditions are sweeping across large swathes of North America, from coast to coast.

Temperatures are forecast to hit -45 Celsius or below in some areas and feel even colder with windchill.

Experts are warning that such extreme cold can cause frostbite on exposed skin in 5 to 10 minutes.

In Colorado on Thursday, temperatures fell to -23 Celsius, while Wyoming saw -37 Celsius.

Montana has also seen registered record lows.

In Canada, Calgary has just had its coldest day since 1996 (-28 Celsius).

The weather is causing huge disruption for those trying to travel ahead of the Christmas break with thousands of flights cancelled from major airports.

Forecasters says the storm could become a ‘bomb cyclone’ later on Friday.

A bomb cyclone is an explosive storm that intensifies rapidly.

Some states have declared a state of emergency.

The storm is likely to have an affect on ski areas during the busy holiday period.

Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont is closed on Friday.

We will be closed for the rest of the day today (12/23/22) due to extreme weather conditions. Follow StoweMtAlerts on…

Posted by Stowe Mountain Resort on Friday, 23 December 2022

High winds have impacted lift operations at some other resorts, including Steamboat in Colorado.

The lucky ones have been recently enjoying some deep powder in the resort.

Steamboat, Colorado. Image c/o PlanetSKI reader, Jenny O'Farrell

Steamboat, Colorado. Image c/o PlanetSKI reader, Jenny O’Farrell

Earlier this month Steamboat had one of its best days for snow on record.

“1.06 meters in 24-hours. One of my best days in 28 years!” said Jenny who supplied the photo above.

By the time the storm passes, it could well have dumped even more snow on some areas that have already have exceptional depths for December.

Here are some of the totals reported on the resorts’ websites to date (Friday 23rd December):

Alta, Utah – 237″ (6.02m)

Happy #WinterSolstice from Alta ☃️The wind buff factory was firing on all cylinders on the first official day of winter 🌬️Skier: Casey Rose

Posted by Alta Ski Area on Wednesday, 21 December 2022

Snowbird, Utah – 216″ (5.49m)

One Month Since Opening

One Month. The conditions speak for themselves. #ADifferentBreed

Posted by Snowbird on Sunday, 18 December 2022

Jackson Hole, Wyoming – 209″ (5.31m)

OVER 200” of ❄️ So Far This Season at Jackson Hole

OVER 200” of ❄️ has fallen this season! Corey Jackson celebrates accordingly 🤘206” & counting with OpenSnow predicting powdery conditions for the foreseeable future. Double-tap if you’re stoked to ⛷️ & 🏂 powder!🎥 shot yesterday on GoPro HERO 11 Black.

Posted by Jackson Hole Mountain Resort on Thursday, 22 December 2022

Palisades Tahoe, California – 163″ (4.14m)

Steamboat, Colorado – 157″ (3.99m)

Park City, Utah – 157″ (3.99m)

Mammoth Mountain, California – 138″ (3.5m)

Kirkwood, California – 134″ (3.4m)

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