Utilities still have an abundance of natural gas in underground storage from which to draw upon for winter heating needs – even after back-to-back triple-digit storage pulls to start the new year. Supplies in both the East and Midwest, though, are shrinking and poised to further dwindle following the frigid cold shots of mid-January that froze production and sent demand soaring.

Sub-zero temperatures, bone-chilling winds and snowstorms canvassed large swaths of the Midwest and Great Lakes over the past several days, and nearly as frigid conditions spilled into the Northeast as well. These regions are robust consumers of natural gas, particularly during winter. With another Arctic blast over the Jan. 20-21 weekend before a weather reprieve arrives in the trading week ahead, the...