Sudden cold burst to usher in dangerous snow squalls, freeze-up
A mild Thanksgiving Day will be followed by sharply colder air and the potential for lake-effect snow that could trigger risky and even dangerous travel downwind of the Great Lakes.
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Nov 23, 2021 2:21 PM EDT
|
Updated Nov 26, 2021 8:33 AM EDT
Sharply colder air and the potential for another round of lake-effect snow that could trigger risky and even dangerous travel from the Great Lakes to the central and northern Appalachians will follow Thanksgiving Day's mild weather.
The new blast of cold air is likely to bring the lowest temperatures of the season so far across much of the Midwest and Northeast, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. The chilly air may be enough to trigger weather whiplash, as it will follow a brief warmup Wednesday in the Midwest and Thanksgiving afternoon in the East. Temperatures peaked well into the 40s and 50s F during the brief warm spell.
A blast of wintry air swept southeastward from Canada into parts of the Midwest on Thursday and is expected to move across the East Friday after a cold front shifted eastward.
For example, Indianapolis reached the mid-50s Wednesday and only dipped into the mid-40s Wednesday night. As colder air swept in on Thanksgiving Day, temperatures slowly fell throughout the day and dipped to near 20 Friday morning.
The air cold air was returning fast enough to localized slippery travel conditions on some heavily traveled highways on Friday morning. Even in places where roads are free of snow accumulation but wet, there remains the risk of a rapid freeze-up that could create hazardous conditions for motorists.
Those heading home from short holiday trips or getting an early start for holiday shopping should exercise caution. AccuWeather forecasters say motorists will need to be prepared for icy and slushy conditions on Friday across Michigan, northern Indiana, eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, western New York, West Virginia and western Maryland.
Slippery conditions can develop suddenly during any snow shower or heavier snow squall. In some cases, roads that appear to be wet may be icy. These conditions can develop first on elevated surfaces, such as bridges and overpasses or in areas that do not receive direct sunlight on a clear day.
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Out ahead of the cold front, some unsettled weather could arrive. Rain showers or perhaps a few hours of steady rain will spread to the Interstate 95 corridor of the Northeast Friday. Gusty winds will occur ahead of the system as well as behind it. The strongest winds, perhaps with gusts between 40 and 60 mph. Gusts this strong can make for tricky handling on the highways and may lead to minor airline delays as well.
As the cold air flows over the warm waters of the Great Lakes, the air will pick up moisture and unleash clouds and snow, known as lake-effect. "Dry air from high up in the atmosphere and farther west from the Plains may be drawn in this time as was the case early in the week and may limit the amount and extent of lake-effect snow accumulation," AccuWeather Senior Storm Warning Meteorologist Brian Wimer explained, adding that the air is a bit colder and moister than earlier this week.
The same dry air battle may be enough to allow moisture to evaporate on many roads before freezing up, but that may not be the case everywhere. Motorists traveling long or short distances on the roads should expect conditions to change from one place to another in this situation. Stretches of I-80, I-81 and I-90 and others are notorious for varying weather conditions and multiple vehicle pile-ups, especially in situations where snow showers and heavier snow squalls develop.
"As the cold air takes root, bands of lake-effect snow are likely on Friday from northeastern Ohio to parts of western and northern Pennsylvania and western, central and northern New York state," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty Douty, and he added that the combination of gusty winds and colder air can lead to several inches of snow, areas of blowing and drifting snow and poor travel conditions.
In parts of northern New England, the cold air will catch up to the back side of the cold front's rain and a change to snow is in store with several inches predicted.
In parts of the mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England, it is possible that some wet snowflakes will mix in with the rain showers late Friday. A couple of snow showers could also roll through these areas Friday night. However, lake-effect rarely reaches all the way to the Atlantic coast, and the advance of dry air may prevent such an occurrence this time as well.
Except in the higher terrain, such as the Poconos, Catskills and Berkshires, any accumulation or icy condition on roads is highly unlikely. Motorists venturing over the mountains should keep alert for changing weather conditions due to isolated snow showers Friday evening.
"Compared to Thursday across the central Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and New England, Friday will feel like the region jumped straight into the winter season, regardless of the scope of lake-effect and any snow shower activity," Douty said.
The period from Friday to Saturday in the Northeast is likely to be quite blustery and cold. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the teens and 20s will be common across the interior and the lower 30s along the coast. Holiday shoppers will want to bundle up.
Temperatures may moderate slightly over the weekend but likely not to the extent of prior warmups. There is even the likelihood for a storm from western Canada to drop across the northern Plains and Midwest later this weekend and into the Northeastern states by early next week. Storms that originate from this region are known as Alberta clippers and when the air is cold enough and enough moisture is available, they can produce a swath of accumulating snow.
Snow is in the forecast from the Midwest to the Northeast.
AccuWeather forecasters are already keeping a close eye on the potential for additional that could affect the Central and Eastern states later next week. The pattern could mark an end to the lull in far-reaching stormy conditions of late, AccuWeather Senior On-Air Meteorologist Mark Mancuso said.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Winter Weather
Sudden cold burst to usher in dangerous snow squalls, freeze-up
A mild Thanksgiving Day will be followed by sharply colder air and the potential for lake-effect snow that could trigger risky and even dangerous travel downwind of the Great Lakes.
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Nov 23, 2021 2:21 PM EDT | Updated Nov 26, 2021 8:33 AM EDT
Sharply colder air and the potential for another round of lake-effect snow that could trigger risky and even dangerous travel from the Great Lakes to the central and northern Appalachians will follow Thanksgiving Day's mild weather.
The new blast of cold air is likely to bring the lowest temperatures of the season so far across much of the Midwest and Northeast, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. The chilly air may be enough to trigger weather whiplash, as it will follow a brief warmup Wednesday in the Midwest and Thanksgiving afternoon in the East. Temperatures peaked well into the 40s and 50s F during the brief warm spell.
A blast of wintry air swept southeastward from Canada into parts of the Midwest on Thursday and is expected to move across the East Friday after a cold front shifted eastward.
For example, Indianapolis reached the mid-50s Wednesday and only dipped into the mid-40s Wednesday night. As colder air swept in on Thanksgiving Day, temperatures slowly fell throughout the day and dipped to near 20 Friday morning.
The air cold air was returning fast enough to localized slippery travel conditions on some heavily traveled highways on Friday morning. Even in places where roads are free of snow accumulation but wet, there remains the risk of a rapid freeze-up that could create hazardous conditions for motorists.
Those heading home from short holiday trips or getting an early start for holiday shopping should exercise caution. AccuWeather forecasters say motorists will need to be prepared for icy and slushy conditions on Friday across Michigan, northern Indiana, eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, western New York, West Virginia and western Maryland.
Slippery conditions can develop suddenly during any snow shower or heavier snow squall. In some cases, roads that appear to be wet may be icy. These conditions can develop first on elevated surfaces, such as bridges and overpasses or in areas that do not receive direct sunlight on a clear day.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Out ahead of the cold front, some unsettled weather could arrive. Rain showers or perhaps a few hours of steady rain will spread to the Interstate 95 corridor of the Northeast Friday. Gusty winds will occur ahead of the system as well as behind it. The strongest winds, perhaps with gusts between 40 and 60 mph. Gusts this strong can make for tricky handling on the highways and may lead to minor airline delays as well.
As the cold air flows over the warm waters of the Great Lakes, the air will pick up moisture and unleash clouds and snow, known as lake-effect. "Dry air from high up in the atmosphere and farther west from the Plains may be drawn in this time as was the case early in the week and may limit the amount and extent of lake-effect snow accumulation," AccuWeather Senior Storm Warning Meteorologist Brian Wimer explained, adding that the air is a bit colder and moister than earlier this week.
The same dry air battle may be enough to allow moisture to evaporate on many roads before freezing up, but that may not be the case everywhere. Motorists traveling long or short distances on the roads should expect conditions to change from one place to another in this situation. Stretches of I-80, I-81 and I-90 and others are notorious for varying weather conditions and multiple vehicle pile-ups, especially in situations where snow showers and heavier snow squalls develop.
"As the cold air takes root, bands of lake-effect snow are likely on Friday from northeastern Ohio to parts of western and northern Pennsylvania and western, central and northern New York state," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty Douty, and he added that the combination of gusty winds and colder air can lead to several inches of snow, areas of blowing and drifting snow and poor travel conditions.
In parts of northern New England, the cold air will catch up to the back side of the cold front's rain and a change to snow is in store with several inches predicted.
In parts of the mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England, it is possible that some wet snowflakes will mix in with the rain showers late Friday. A couple of snow showers could also roll through these areas Friday night. However, lake-effect rarely reaches all the way to the Atlantic coast, and the advance of dry air may prevent such an occurrence this time as well.
Except in the higher terrain, such as the Poconos, Catskills and Berkshires, any accumulation or icy condition on roads is highly unlikely. Motorists venturing over the mountains should keep alert for changing weather conditions due to isolated snow showers Friday evening.
"Compared to Thursday across the central Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and New England, Friday will feel like the region jumped straight into the winter season, regardless of the scope of lake-effect and any snow shower activity," Douty said.
The period from Friday to Saturday in the Northeast is likely to be quite blustery and cold. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the teens and 20s will be common across the interior and the lower 30s along the coast. Holiday shoppers will want to bundle up.
Temperatures may moderate slightly over the weekend but likely not to the extent of prior warmups. There is even the likelihood for a storm from western Canada to drop across the northern Plains and Midwest later this weekend and into the Northeastern states by early next week. Storms that originate from this region are known as Alberta clippers and when the air is cold enough and enough moisture is available, they can produce a swath of accumulating snow.
Snow is in the forecast from the Midwest to the Northeast.
AccuWeather forecasters are already keeping a close eye on the potential for additional that could affect the Central and Eastern states later next week. The pattern could mark an end to the lull in far-reaching stormy conditions of late, AccuWeather Senior On-Air Meteorologist Mark Mancuso said.
Related:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo