Snow in Rockies, Midwest headed here

Staff and wire report

HELENA, MONT.

A winter storm pushing through the Rockies and Midwest is bringing bitter cold and treacherous driving conditions blamed in at least six deaths as it threatens crops as far south as California.

The wind chill dropped to 30 degrees below zero in parts of Montana on Wednesday while wind chills of minus 20 were recorded in the Nebraska Panhandle. Low temperatures in the Denver area were expected to drop below zero over the next several days.

The jet stream is much farther south than normal, allowing the cold air to push in from the Arctic and drop temperatures by 20 to 40 degrees below normal levels, AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines said.

But in the Mahoning Valley, the temperatures were considerably higher than average.

The high Wednesday was 54 degrees, and it is expected to reach 55 to 60 degrees today, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland. The average high for this time of year in the Valley is 40 degrees.

It should drop to about 32 degrees tonight, but that also is still higher than the normal low of 28 degrees for this time of the year, according to the weather service.

Snow is expected to start early Friday with accumulations of about 1 inch. The high Friday will be in the mid-30s with a low at night in the lower 20s. Saturday’s high is expected to reach into the upper 20s, according to the weather service’s forecast.