Greetings from the ice planet Hoth.
In fact, much of the eastern U.S. resembles the frozen world from the fictional Star Wars, and people there are now enduring some of the worst cold on Earth: “The eastern U.S. is expected to be the coldest place on Earth relative to average over the next 10 days,” Washington Post meteorologist Ben Knoll told X on January 27.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J., said, “Overall, it is extremely rare to get arctic air masses of this length and intensity in this region and should be taken seriously by those who have to venture out in the cold for extended periods of time.”
Cold weather from Siberia
Interestingly, MIT climatologist Judah Cohen said in an email to USA TODAY, “Some of the cold comes from Siberia, which contributes to the extreme cold because Siberia is the source of the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere during winter.”
Record-breaking cold swept through the Midwest and Northeast this week, bringing the coldest winter in eight years to cities including Detroit, New York and Boston, AccuWeather said.
This “extreme” to “historic” cold is the result of our winter enemy, the polar vortex, which continues to play a role in this winter’s weather and will likely continue to do so in the coming weeks, Cohen said.
From October 2024: The often misunderstood polar vortex awakens again
Lisa Hemphill of Hull, Massachusetts, bundled up to protect herself from the cold wind as she walked along Nantasket Beach on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
Additional cold snaps throughout February
Well-below-normal temperatures across the eastern United States should continue into early February before easing slightly.
While there may be some temporary relief, the polar vortex could unleash another blast of frigid air over the central and eastern United States around mid-February, said AccuWeather Long Range Specialist Paul Pastelok. He said it could be accompanied by snow.
Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue said in an email to USA TODAY that the “extreme cold” outbreak will occur around February 8-11, and conditions will not improve after that. “Talk about Groundhog Day,” he said.
Meanwhile, the western half of the country will be generally warm for much of the month, according to AccuWeather.
Map showing February temperature forecast
A map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center (below) shows that the eastern United States will remain cold for much of the month, while the west will remain warm.
Temperatures across the country are expected to be colder in the east and warmer in the west from February 6 to 11.
The national temperature forecast from February 7 to 20, 2026 shows that it will continue to be cold in the east and warm in the west.
When will these cold attacks end?
“They expect it to last until at least mid-February and possibly beyond, but my uncertainty is pretty high,” Cohen said. “So far this winter, I’m fairly confident that we’ll find the next extended polar vortex that’s going to bring cold. We’re going to have at least one more extended polar vortex in early February.”
When the polar vortex “stretches,” cold air typically flows into the central and eastern United States. When cold “intensifies,” it often stays in the Arctic and Canada.
“But beyond that, we’re likely to see greater polar vortex disruption, and it’s much harder to predict how it will affect our weather,” he said. “I don’t expect the polar vortex to intensify and return to normal until [meteorological] winter is over [Feb. 28]. It’s likely to intensify again in March, but when and how it affects our weather is purely a guessing game at the moment. “
Contributed by Amanda Wallace, NorthJersey, .com.
Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, covering weather and climate.
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: More polar vortex chaos forecast in February 2026