Frigid arctic air descended over parts of central Canada and the Midwestern United States on Tuesday, February 18, causing temperatures to plummet.This timelapse animation, released by the Colorado-based Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), depicts the mass of cold air spreading out over the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta, and over the US states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.The US National Weather Service said the arctic air had swept in as far south as Colorado and New Mexico.“Many locations could set new record low temperatures this week as a result of the cold blast,” CIRA said.The imagery was captured over about 19 hours, from 4 pm CST on Monday to 10:50 am CST on Tuesday. Credit: CSU/CIRA & NOAA via Storyful