‘Anticyclonic’ freeze-zone to send temperatures plunging with swaths of America buried under a foot-deep Arctic blanket

Jim Dale, US meteorologist for British Weather Services and co-author of ‘Surviving Extreme Weather’, said: “This looks like it is going to be a prolonged cold spell with some very low temperatures coming in from Canada and the Arctic.

“This is winter really hanging on across the region brining the risk of snow, freezing rain, you name it, across a broad region from the north and across the Midwest and the east. This is not going to recover very quickly.”

Cold weather will be driven in part by three high pressure ‘domes’ stretching across the middle of the country.

Aiding winter’s return is the jet stream, which shunted south is keeping any hint of summer warmth locked across Gulf States.

Dale said: “The jet stream has pushed southwards, and this is part of the reason for the very cold weather getting a grip on northern regions with any warmer air confined to the south.

“A big cold front to the north is also dragging ribbons of cold air over the country from Canada, and while this is going to bring a mix of weather conditions, the main theme for the region is going to be hail, snow and freezing rain.”