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It’s so cold in Alabama, charities in the city of Mobile are opening warming stations.

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The forecast is calling for lows as cold in the upper teens in parts of Alabama this week. That’s prompted relief groups to open warming stations from the Tennessee Valley to the Gulf coast. Decatur’s Salvation Army, the Compassion Coalition in Tuscaloosa, and Birmingham’s Jimmie Hale Mission are taking part in the effort. A half dozen are opening in the Mobile area, including Central Presbyterian for families. The Salvation Army is open for men and McKemie Place for women. Close to a twenty more warming stations are opening in Etowah and Cullman Counties.

A huge swath of the U.S. was blasted with ice, snow and wind on Monday as the polar vortex that dipped south over the weekend kept much of the country east of the Rockies in its frigid grip, making many roads treacherous, forcing school closures, and causing widespread power outages and flight cancellations. The immense storm system brought disruption to areas of the country that usually escape winter's wrath, downing trees in some Southern states, threatening a freeze in Florida and causing people in Dallas to dip deep into their wardrobes for warm hats and gloves.

Ice and snow blanketed major roads in Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 45 mph. The warnings extended to New Jersey into early Tuesday.

The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually spins around the North Pole, but it sometimes plunges southward into the U.S., Europe and Asia. Studies show that a fast-warming Arctic is partly to blame for the increasing frequency of the polar vortex extending its grip.

Starting Monday, the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. dealt with bone-chilling cold and wind chills, said forecasters, predicting that temperatures could range from 12 to 25 degrees below normal in many areas. The Northeast, which has had a relatively mild start to winter, was expected to get several cold days, said Jon Palmer, a weather service meteorologist based in Gray, Maine.

Pat Duggins is news director for Alabama Public Radio.
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