Bone-chilling Arctic cold to bring snow for some in central and eastern US into early 2026
Areas from the northern part of the Plains through the Midwest and the Northeast will remain in the grips of Arctic air the remainder of the week. Snow will accompany the frigid conditions in some areas.
Dangerous, wind-driven snow swept from the Upper Midwest across the Great Lakes, making the last Monday of 2025 a memorable one.
Arctic air means business this week with frigid temperatures from the northern Plains to the East Coast and Gulf Coast states. Accompanying the waves of Arctic air will be rounds of snow for some in the Midwest and Northeast, as well as heavy lake-effect snow around the Great Lakes.
A couple embraces during a snow in front of the Manhattan Bridge, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Arctic air's return delivers a reality check
As the leading edge of the Arctic air advanced, temperatures plummeted 40-60 degrees in a matter of several hours over portions of the Plains and the Mississippi Valley from Sunday to Monday morning.
For example, after a record high of 78 Sunday afternoon, people in St. Louis were greeted Monday morning with temperatures hovering at 15 and an AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature of 12 below zero. That's an actual temperature drop of 63 degrees Fahrenheit and a RealFeel® drop of 90 degrees.
On Monday, the temperature in Pittsburgh plummeted 42 degrees in 12 hours from 64 at 2 a.m. to 22 at 2 p.m., when the RealFeel® Temperature was 7. After reaching close to 50 degrees on Monday, temperatures barely inched above the freezing mark on Tuesday in New York City and struggled to get there on Wednesday.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures were 10-30 degrees lower than the actual temperature when the wind is blowing and the sun is not out.
Nighttime temperatures will continue to dip below zero at times in parts of the Upper Midwest and the Northeast, with lows in the single digits, teens and 20s for most of the I-70 and I-80 corridors.
From parts of Louisiana to Florida, temperatures dipped close to their lowest levels experienced in mid-November and mid-December, with a frost and freeze for portions of central Florida. Most areas over the interior Southern states will stop a few degrees short of those levels, but factoring in recent warmth, it will be a bit of a shock.
Clipper storms and lake-effect to bring snow and sudden whiteouts
In the wake of the powerful weekend storm, the rush of Arctic air across the open waters of the Great Lakes will create flurries, bands of lake-effect snow and snow squalls from Michigan to the Northeast through much of this week. Most of the lake-effect heavy snow bands will be confined to the northern part of I-81 in New York, I-75 and I-196 in Michigan and I-80/90 from New York to Indiana.
As a reinforcing dose of Arctic air advances, accompanied by some steady snow and snow squalls, a quick freeze-up can occur, creating exceptionally dangerous conditions on roads from the Midwest to the Appalachians.
A foot or two of snow can easily pile up from lake-effect snow alone this week, where bands persist or return for multiple rounds. Some areas in Michigan may end up with 48-60 inches of snow, counting the storm from this past weekend through the rounds of snow and lake-effect into Friday.
Making the weather situation more complex will be a double-jointed clipper storm that will race along with two patches of snow.
In parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as upstate New York and New England, two patches of snow may overlap.
The circulation around the clipper storm will cause winds to shift, resulting in significant changes to the location of lake-effect bands from one day to the next.
Both patches could bring a couple of rounds of snow into Thursday. This means there's a significant chance of snow in the air at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve in both cities and others.
It will be enough to make roads and sidewalks slippery in some locations outside of the lake effect from the Midwest to the Northeast.
During the northwest winds in the wake of the clipper storm this week, there is a likelihood of localized snow squalls that can extend hundreds of miles away from the shores of the Great Lakes. These will pose hazards for motorists on the interstates 70 and 80 corridors.
The snowy pattern will lead to airline delays related to deicing operations and slippery runways from the Midwest to the Northeast.
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