AccuWeather.com

By Meghan Evans, Meteorologist

Jan 27, 2012; 7:43 AM ET

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Photo from photos.com.

A new blast of cold air will spread across the Great Lakes and Northeast over the weekend and early next week, triggering a round of lake-effect snow.

Cold winds will start to howl across the far northern Plains and the Upper Midwest on Friday as an arctic cold front plows across the region. Highs will reach only into the teens and 20s across parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Winds gusting to 35 mph and locally higher, AccuWeather.com RealFeel® temperatures will be colder than actual temperatures.

The bitterly cold air will spread farther south and east across the central Great Lakes and the central Plains on Saturday and into Northeast and Appalachians on Sunday.

Highs in Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison will be in the 20s by Sunday with a brisk breeze making it feel more like the teens and even single digits at times. Lows will plummet into the teens at night.

Across the interior Northeast, highs will drop to the teens and 20s on Monday with highs along the I-95 corridor in the 30s. Again, blustery winds will make it feel even colder.

It will not be a long-lived cold spell with a southerly flow expected to draw milder air toward the Midwest starting Monday. The Northeast will stay cold to start the week.

Lake-Effect Snow Machine Kicks Back On

The air will be cold enough while crossing the relatively mild water of the Great Lakes, especially since there is very little ice cover over the lakes.

Snow squalls and heavy lake-effect snow bands will start to set up late Saturday and Saturday night across the upper Great Lakes. By Sunday, the lake-effect snow machine will be in full swing across the central and eastern Great Lakes.

Motorists should prepare for sudden bursts of snow that will suddenly reduce visibility and cause roadway conditions to deteriorate rapidly. Travel along the New York Thruway, I-90, could become treacherous.

Typical lake-effect snowbelts could pick up 6-12 inches of snow.

"There could be some snow showers spreading through areas farther away from the Great Lakes over eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York on Sunday," added Sosnowski. These snow showers may spread in fast and cause a quick dusting of snow that results in slick travel.

Some snow showers will continue downwind of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie on Monday.