U.S: Cold snap felt across western half of nation

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A wintry storm pushing through the western half of the country is bringing bitterly cold temperatures that prompted safety warnings for residents in the Rockies and threatened crops as far south as California.
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,Weather meteorologist Tom Kines said Tuesday.
Areas of Montana and the Dakotas were forecast to reach lows in the minus-20s, while parts of California could see the thermometer drop to the 20s. The icy arctic blast was expected to be followed by another one later in the week, creating an extended period of cold weather that hasn’t been seen since the late 1990s, meteorologists said.
Officials warned residents to protect themselves against frostbite if they are going to be outside for any length of time.
“When it gets this cold, you don’t need 30, 40 mile-per-hour winds to get that wind chill down to dangerous levels. All it takes is a little breeze,” Kines said.
The storm hit the northern Rockies on Monday and Tuesday, dumping up to 2 feet of snow in the mountains and in Yellowstone National Park.