When will the midwestern, eastern US face a major storm, harsh cold?

Despite December kicking off meteorological winter later this week, it may take until later in the month for the eastern half of the United States to face a major storm or harsh cold.

With Thanksgiving over, many residents are already getting into the Christmas spirit by putting up decorations and buying presents to put under the tree.

However, the weather is not doing its part to make it feel like the holidays are right around the corner. The break from persistent cold and major storms over Thanksgiving will remain the theme across the Central and Eastern states through early December.

“We expect a relatively fast west to east jet stream pattern,” AccuWeather Long-Range Meteorologist Evan Duffey said. The jet stream is a quick-moving river of air along which storms travel.

“This fast flow will cause any storm that moves inland from the Pacific Ocean to struggle to get moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean,” Duffey said, “and will make it difficult for frigid air to plunge southward into the U.S.”

As a result, storminess across the Central and Eastern states is expected to be largely limited to quick-hitting cold fronts into early December.

A few of these fronts may cause rain to change to snow in the Appalachian Mountains or touch off brief lake-effect snow showers in their wake. However, most fronts will either struggle to deliver any wet or wintry weather or produce only rain.

The lack of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will help put a lid on severe weather.

“There will be occasional cold that moves across the northern and eastern areas of the U.S. behind these fronts, but the extent and degree of the cold will not be extreme,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.

“However, we expect more warm days than cold into early December,” Duffey said.

One such warm spell will pour from the Plains to the East through the first half of the week.

The overall mild and quiet pattern will offer residents plenty of opportunities to do outdoor decorating, shopping or enjoy a football game without having to bundle up. Some may even consider firing up the grill for dinner.

“Many home and business owners may be able to save some money on heating costs,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. “However, the pattern may pose challenges for the ski industry and people who depend on income from snow removal.”

A cold front will pass through the Northeast at the end of this week. A storm may develop along the front and produce a period of showers and coastal rain across New England. While there won't be much cold air behind this front and system, there can be a few snow showers across Upstate New York and northern New England.

Aside from this, the rest of the week will remain quiet. Later during the first full week of December, there are signs that the weather pattern will change and bring an increase in storms to the eastern half of the U.S.

Pastelok anticipates that pattern will favor storms cutting up through the Midwest and Plains. Any snow would tend to fall north and west of these storms with rain along the I-95 corridor.

It may take even longer for harsh cold to arrive.

“Later in December, perhaps closer to the third week, a change will occur where more extreme cold will enter the U.S.,” Pastelok said. “The cold may first plunge across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest, then eastward just before the holiday.”

The cold may be so harsh across the northern Plains that December as a whole will be below normal despite the warmth start to the month.

“It will definitely feel like winter beyond the holidays as we expect January to be significantly colder,” Duffey said.

Report a Typo