Funviralpark The Arctic cold, which hit much of the United States in dangerously cold weather this week, brought record-breaking cold weather that dropped temperatures by as much as 40 degrees in just 30 minutes in the western part of the country.
A polar cold front broke the previous one-hour temperature drop record in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Wednesday, with temperatures hitting 43 degrees Celsius between 1:05 pm and 1:35 pm, according to the Cheyenne National Weather Service. It plummeted three times. The previous record fell 37 degrees in an hour.
Officials warned at the time that temperatures were still dropping.
According to the NWS, in the space of two hours, the winter chill has dropped temperatures in southeastern Wyoming from 42 degrees to 51 degrees to -9 degrees.
TRACK THE STORM WITH FOX WEATHER
“The bottom continues to drop as wind chill hits Cheyenne’s -40s! Stay safe!” the agency warned.
Denver also felt frigid conditions as the Arctic cold front passed through Wednesday afternoon.
Ahead of Christmas, frigid winds were expected to hit much of the United States.
(FOX Weather)
After peaking at 50 degrees earlier in the day around 4 p.m., gusts of wind caused temperatures at Denver International Airport to plummet from 42 to 5 degrees within an hour, according to FOX31 Denver.
‘Bomb Cyclone’ Affects Holiday Travel
A drop of 37 degrees is likely the largest one-hour temperature drop at an airport, according to NWS Boulder.
Within the next hour, the frigid temperature continued heading towards freezing, reaching minus 1 degree Celsius, the agency reported.
Colder winds around Denver pushed the temperature even further below zero, reaching minus 22 degrees Celsius by 6 p.m., according to the report. Freezing conditions were expected to last until late Friday morning.
In Portland, Oregon, wind chill could plummet to -25 degrees Celsius Thursday in parts of the Cascades in northern Oregon and southern Washington, the NWS warned.
These mountainous areas can have up to 5 inches of snow and nearly half an inch of ice, and gusts of wind can exceed 70 miles per hour above the treeline, officials say.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
