More Cold and Snow

Thursday morning

Today's video shows why the very cold weather is going to persist and suggests next week's cold could freeze out the cold we have had this week. However, in some of the years with record lows around this time, there was record heat in the summer.

There is a parade of clippers running from west-central Canada, through the Midwest then to the East Coast. Each one is preceded by some warming and an area of snow; each is followed by another blast of bitter cold. The low pressure area and cold front moving through the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley tomorrow night and into the Northeast looks energetic and will generate strong gusty winds and bands of snow. Many places in the Middle and North Atlantic states will get less than an inch, but some enhanced bands could quickly drop a few inches on some locales.

Check the AccuWeather.com radar displays to help track them. The map below shows the precipitation and pressure pattern suggested by the NAM model for Saturday morning and midday. The map makes it look like it is snowing almost everywhere, but it actually shows the amount of snow over a six-hour period between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET Saturday. A 10-minute snow squall zipping along during that period would be enough to account for the amounts shown. Or, there could be a wider area of snow that lasts for a few hours. In other words, you need to look at other maps and tools to determine the true nature of what is going on.