Wild Weather Slams US, Dip in Jet Stream Blamed

The New Year is bringing wild winter weather across the nation. A dip in the jet stream from Canada is to blame.

It's already cold in places like Minnesota where temperatures fell below zero Monday in northern, central, and western parts of the state.

Chicago is under a winter storm watch and could see their biggest snowfall of the season. National forecasters are expecting more than six inches to fall Monday night.

In the South, thunderstorms knocked down trees, severed power lines, and blocked roads. Tornadoes were confirmed in Mississippi and Alabama.

The Brookfield Baptist Church in southern Georgia was severely damaged during a service on Sunday.

Minister Gary Cadwell painted a scary picture of what it was like during the storm, saying doors flew off hinges.

"The walls were shaking; the windows were cracking," he recalled.

Forecasters expect the cold to spread across the eastern two-thirds of the United States, including the South.

The National Weather Service said Atlanta will see temperatures as low as about 15 degrees Monday and Tuesday.