Arctic air mass pushes to the U.S. South; Midwest also bracing for dangerous wind chills

MONROE, Wash. (AP) — A blast of arctic air swept south from Canada and spread into parts of the northern U.S. on Saturday, while residents of the Pacific Northwest braced for possible mudslides and levee failures from floodwaters that are expected to be slow to recede.

The catastrophic flooding forced thousands of people to evacuate, including Eddie Wicks and his wife, who live amid sunflowers and Christmas trees on a Washington state farm next to the Snoqualmie River. As they moved their two donkeys to higher ground and their eight goats to their outdoor kitchen, the water began to rise much quicker than anything they had experienced before.

As the water engulfed their home Thursday afternoon, deputies from the King County Sheriff’s Office marine rescue dive unit were able to rescue them and their dog, taking them on a boat the half-mile (800 meters) across their field, which had been transformed into a lake. The rescue was captured on video.

Another round of rain and wind is in store for the region as early as late Sunday, forecasters said.

“Bottom line at this point in time is we’re not done despite the sunny conditions that we have across western Washington at this point,” said Reid Wolcott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.

“There is yet more still to come in terms of in terms of wind, in terms of rain, in terms in terms of flooding,” he said. “And Washingtonians need to be prepared for additional impacts, additional flooding, tree damage, power outages, etc.”

High winds expected at the end of the weekend and into the first part of week are a concern because the ground is extremely saturated, putting trees at risk of toppling, he said.

In Burlington, a farming community about an hour north of Seattle, the receding floodwaters allowed residents to assess damage and clean up their homes.

Friends and relatives helped empty Argentina Dominguez's home, filling trailers with soaked furniture, ripping carpet and mopping muddy floors.

“I know it’s materialistic stuff, but they were our stuff. It’s really hard. But we’re gonna try our best to like get through it all,” Dominguez said. “We’re just trying to get everything off the floor so we can start over.”

In Snohomish County, Washington, north of Seattle, emergency officials on Saturday led federal, state and local officials on a tour of the devastation.

“It’s obvious that thousands and thousands of Washingtonians and communities all across our state are in the process of digging out, and that’s going to be a challenging process,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said.

“It’s going to be expensive,” he said. “It’s going to be time consuming, and it’s going to be potentially dangerous at times. So I think we’re seeing here in Monroe is what we’re going to be seeing all across the state, and that’s what’s got our focus right now.”

As the Pacific Northwest begins to recover from the deluge, a separate weather system already brought dangerous wind-chill values — the combination of cold air temperatures and wind — to parts of the Upper Midwest.

Shortly before noon Saturday, it was minus 12 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 24 degrees Celsius) in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the wind-chill value meant that it felt like minus 33 F (minus 36 C), the National Weather Service said.

For big cities like Minneapolis and Chicago, the coldest temperatures were expected late Saturday night into Sunday morning. In the Minneapolis area, low temperatures were expected to drop to around minus 15 F (minus 26 C), by early Sunday morning. Lows in the Chicago area are projected to be around 1 F(minus 17 C) by early Sunday, the weather service said.

The Arctic air mass was expected to continue pushing south and east over the weekend, expanding into Southern states by Sunday.

The National Weather Service on Saturday issued cold weather advisories that stretched as far south as the Alabama state capital city of Montgomery, where temperatures late Sunday night into Monday morning were expected to plummet to around 22 F (minus 6 C). To the east, lows in Savannah, Georgia, were expected to drop to around 24 F (minus 4 C) during the same time period.

The cold weather freezing much of the country came as residents in the Pacific Northwest endure more misery after several days of flooding. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate towns in the region as an unusually strong atmospheric river dumped a foot (30 centimeters) or more of rain in parts of western and central Washington over several days and swelled rivers, inundating communities and prompting dramatic rescues from rooftops and vehicles.

Many animals were also evacuated as waters raged over horse pastures, barns and farmland. At the peak of evacuations, roughly 170 horses, 140 chickens and 90 goats saved from the floodwaters were being cared for at a county park north of Seattle, said Kara Underwood, division manager of Snohomish County Parks. Most of those animals were still at the park on Saturday, she said.

The record floodwaters slowly receded, but authorities warned that waters will remain high for days, and that there was still danger from potential levee failures or mudslides. There was also the threat of more rain forecast for Sunday. Officials conducted dozens of water rescues as debris and mudslides closed highways and raging torrents washed out roads and bridges.

Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes in Burlington, Hallie Golden in Seattle and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.

Floodwaters surround a home after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Floodwaters cover a road after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Haji Higa, right, and Lydia Heglin, left, walk through floodwaters at their front door after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Francis Tarango mops inside her daughters' home damaged by floodwaters in Burlington, Wash., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)

"E-man" Trujillo uses a jet-ski to pull his children in a canoe as the family's horses graze on high ground in near their front door after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

"E-man" Trujillo, center, uses a jet-ski to tow a canoe with his children Liam, 6, far left, Julissa, 15, and Benjamin, 5, third from left, as their horses take refuge on the high ground at their front door after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Floodwater surrounds a home in Burlington, Wash., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)

Men remove a wet carpet from a house damaged by floodwaters in Burlington, Washington, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)

Vehicles are partially submerged after heavy rains led to historic flooding in the region, in Burlington, Wash., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)

Fracis Tarango mops inside her daughters' home damaged by floodwaters in Burlington, Wash., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)

A man pushes a truck through a neigbhorhood flooded by the Skagit River on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Burlington. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

An aerial view shows homes surrounded by floodwaters in Snohomish, Wash., Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Emergency crews, including National Guard soldiers, wort in a neighborhood flooded by the Skagit River on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Burlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

A monster storm is expected to wreak havoc across much of the United States. The storm threatens to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways. Roughly 140 million people were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

People walk on a snow-covered street as a winter storm passes though the area Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Shoppers brave cold weather as they walk in the parking lot of a store during a winter storm Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Shelves that once contained water are picked over at a Pittsburgh market ahead of a snowstorm Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Travelers walk up a salt-covered sidewalk that lead into the main concourse at Love Field Airport Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

A pickup moves westbound on Interstate-20 as tow trucks, back, prepare to pull a disabled tractor trailer on the eastbound lanes during a snowstorm early Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Ignacio Rodriguez uses a torch in an attempt to thaw the frozen door of a pickup belonging to his brother Adrian Rodriguez, not visible, during a winter storm Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Workers with Architect of the Capitol shovel snow near the U.S. Capitol, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A Nashville Department of Transportation truck applies salt brine to a roadway Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. ahead of a winter storm expected to hit the state over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Ice forms on a pier along Lake Michigan ona. cold Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

A person walks in the cold and wind Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Shoppers wait in line to purchase groceries Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn., ahead of a winter storm expected to hit the state over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

An aerial view of snowfall in downtown Oklahoma City on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Emma Nadeau, of North Yarmouth, Maine, is bundled against the cold as she watches the sunrise on a 1-degree F. morning, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Ice crystals form inside a kitchen window in Lowville, New York, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Cara Anna)

Planes move on the tarmac at the Nashville International Airport during a winter storm Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A plow clears snow from a snow-covered sidewalk during a cold day in Lake Forest, Ill., Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Pedestrians cross the street along Broadway during a winter storm Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)