Cold air to trigger frost, freeze across interior Northeast as autumn chill takes hold
A sharp chill will bring widespread frost and freeze conditions to the interior Northeast and mid-Atlantic late this week, potentially ending the growing season before a major storm brews Sunday into Monday.
AccuWeather’s Bernie Rayno discusses the differences between a frost advisory and a freeze warning.
With the middle of October just days away and the warmth that highlighted the past weekend now a distant memory, it's time to refresh the apple cider and pumpkin spice lattés. Autumn weather will return in earnest this week, with a noticeable chill arriving. A frost and freeze capable of ending the growing season are expected on Thursday night.
Gardeners across central New York, much of Pennsylvania and central New England should harvest or cover sensitive plants ahead of the freeze risk. Prior frosts and freezes have already ended the growing season over the northern tier.
Highs in the 80s F that persisted in the Upper Midwest last weekend and the coastal Northeast earlier this week have now been replaced by a colder pattern advancing from Canada. The pattern will progress and escalate into crisp and cool Canadian air through the end of the week.
Where the winds drop off and the sky remains clear, temperatures will plummet in the dry air. Scattered frost occurred around parts of the Great Lakes and northern interior Northeast on Wednesday night.
Widespread frost and freeze conditions are expected late Thursday night to Friday morning across much of the interior Northeast, with temperatures falling into the 20s in colder valleys.
In the coldest spots, temperatures will dip into the 10s in northeastern New York and northwestern New England.
Frost is not expected in downtown areas from New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., which is good news for those still tending urban gardens. However, many suburbs will experience patchy frost. A killing frost is forecast from the mountain valleys of West Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to northern Maine. It is probable that the immediate shorelines of Lakes Erie, Ontario and Huron will escape a heavy frost.
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Another frost may occur in some areas of the interior Northeast on Friday night, but the overall temperature trend should be slowly upward during the weekend.
A tropical wind and rainstorm is forecast to develop Sunday into Monday and track northward along the Eastern Seaboard. Depending on the exact track, this system will bring coastal flooding, strong winds and beach erosion. AccuWeather meteorologists are closely monitoring the potential for damaging impacts, particularly in coastal New England and the mid-Atlantic.
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