It's Only Getting Worse -- "Never See Snow Again" -- January 20, 2021

From Bloomberg: cold, calm Arctic weather set to rattle Europe energy markets ... and it's on its way to the American midwest. 

Europe is girding for an extended blast of freezing conditions with temperatures set to drop below zero in many parts by the end of this week.

A sub-zero blast that has already blanketed Madrid in a rare snowfall is set to worsen with a weather phenomenon known as a sudden stratospheric warming. The event can disrupt the polar vortex, the winds that usually keep cold air contained in the far north, and allow freezing weather to head south.

It threatens a re-run of “the beast from the east” of two years ago, when a deadly Siberian cold blast lashed Europe, forcing evacuations, stranding trains and snarling traffic. It couldn’t come at a worse time for the region’s heating and power systems, with calm conditions expected to stifle Europe’s wind generation and nuclear plant outages adding to the strain from the cold.

Chilly conditions in Europe January 17-22, 2021, will push the number of heating degree days for that period 11% above the 10-year average.

The measure of when temperatures are below a level needed to warm buildings is expected to climb to 92 days next week, compared to a 10-year seasonal average of 82.7.

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South Dakota Attorney General

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