Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
At least 82 dead, dozens still missing after catastrophic flooding in Texas. Read the latest Chevron right

Columbus, OH

87°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

87°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

Blast of cold could lead to historic low temperatures across eastern U.S.

By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer

Published May 8, 2020 10:19 PM EDT

Copied

Temperatures on Saturday morning could drop to historic lows across the eastern United States, breaking and tying some record lows in a multitude of cities.

"When you compare the strength of the polar vortex this time of year to normal, the portion that will be over upstate [New York] Saturday morning will be the strongest in the northern hemisphere," Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck said.

He said the coming cold weather is "very unusual" for the month of May.

State College, Pennsylvania, is expected to hit a low of 27 with some snow even expected in the early hours. The brisk temperature will tie with the town's record low for May.

State College will be hitting unusually cold temperatures consistently through the month of May. Since 1983, only 2005 has seen more than one day in May reach temperatures lower than 32. This year, however, May is forecast to reach less than 32 for two days, including the tie with the record low that is forecasted for Saturday.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

The statistic probability of the temperature in State College reaching lower than 33 degrees is less than 7%, AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor and Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell said.

In May of 1966, temperatures in Philadelphia reached below 35 four times. Since 1966, Ferrell said there have only been three years (1970, 1978 and 1986) where a single day reached temperatures that low in May. Friday night is forecast to reach a low of 34, with an AccuWeather RealFeel temperature of 22.

The area will bounce back soon enough, though, as Smerbeck said the city will reach 75 by next week.

Further inland, Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Detroit, Michigan; and Syracuse, New York, could all break record lows on Saturday morning.

"The low temperatures expected Saturday morning could be historic," Ferrell said.

"New York City, which is forecast to see a low temperature of 36 Saturday, hasn't seen temperatures that cold in May since 1966," Ferrell said.

Cities across North Carolina will feel the cold Saturday morning as well, with many tying or getting close to their lowest recorded temperatures for May.

Related:

Spring is wearing a mask
Why weather forecasts stopped: The 75th anniversary of V-E Day
Missed desperately by people in the East, spring weather will return, but when?

Asheville, North Carolina, is expected to hit a low of 28, which will tie with their all-time low May record set on May 8, 1989. Greensboro will get close to, but not tie, their current record of 32 from 1989. The low for Saturday is expected to reach 33 for the city. Hickory will have a low of 33, just a few degrees off from May's record low of 30.

While the cold may stick around for a bit, Smerbeck said there is an end in sight.

"The Polar Vortex and the cold will be with us through the middle of next week. Then the Polar Vortex will lift to the north into Canada and the jet stream will become more zonal, or east to west late next week," Smerbeck said. "And hopefully never come back."

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Weather News

‘Oh my God, we’re floating’: What people faced in amid Texas floods

Jul. 7, 2025
Weather News

The faces of the Texas flooding tragedy

Jul. 7, 2025
video

Rescue operations underway after deadly Texas flooding

Jul. 6, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather News

‘Oh my God, we’re floating’: What people faced in amid Texas floods

50 minutes ago

Weather News

At least 82 dead in Texas, dozens still missing in flooding

11 minutes ago

Weather News

How torrential flooding wrought tragedy at girls camp in Texas

50 minutes ago

Severe Weather

Severe weather to storm through Plains, Midwest this week

2 hours ago

Weather News

Madre Fire grows to 80,000 acres, becomes California’s largest wildfir...

5 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Weather News

Wildfires are tearing through a popular tourist hotspot in Greece

3 days ago

Weather News

‘Shark Whisperer’ swims its way into our shark obsession

2 days ago

Travel

Fourth of July gas hasn’t been this cheap since 2021

5 days ago

Weather News

France leads Europe in saying au revoir to beach and park smoking

3 days ago

Health

There is no safe amount of processed meat to eat, new research shows

4 days ago

AccuWeather Weather News Blast of cold could lead to historic low temperatures across eastern U.S.
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...