First the ice and now the bitter cold: It looks like one more bitter cold day with temperatures in the single digits with partly sunny skies. Lows will be below zero for another night. You can see this huge area of high pressure. This is what we call a cold core high.

*Can be shallow or deep: most intense at the surface (due to cold/dense air) and weaken with height if away from source region. The upper levels will show a deep trough if the polar air mass moves into mid-latitudes. Cold core highs are deep near their source regions*Precipitation generally lacking near cold core high center*Covers a large spatial area*Produces synoptic scale surface subsidence*Develop over high latitude land.

So basically the cold polar air gets trapped at the surface while the warmer air which has a lower density and pressure rides above it, making for a dome which sits across the area.

Some relief?

I apologize for the complexity of these models today. My normal site where I love to get data is down this morning. These are 500 mb heights with surface pressure. The thickness value which I have derived off these models through the end of the week has moderating temperatures. Here's the problem though, we could still see some warm air overriding the frigid air on the surface for some freezing rain on Tuesday and Tuesday night. After that we should begin to see warmer air.