Coldest air of season so far to grip eastern US prior to December
More than 100 million people in the eastern third of the nation will be reaching for the thermostat and some will be grabbing a winter coat when they head out the door as air from Canada pays the region a visit.
Temperatures in the East will tumble to levels more typical of January as cold air blows in from Canada.
It may be time to throw another log on the fire or make sure the furnace is in good working order in much of the eastern third of the United States, as air from northern Canada is on the move.
The first major blast of cold air will continue to settle into the East into Wednesday and will not only be responsible for some of the lowest temperatures so far but also some of the first freezes of the season for areas that have been holding out, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
While the air coming in will not be record-breaking, it will have some shock as the first cold waves of the season often do. Temperatures will run 10-20 degrees below the historical average for late November, making it feel more like late December or January in terms of nighttime lows.
Temperatures this fall had not yet dipped to freezing or below in cities such as Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, but the air coming in has now lowered the bar. Autumn season lows in both cities were 34 degrees Fahrenheit as of Nov. 27. However, temperatures dipped into the middle 20s in Washington, D.C., and the upper 20s in Atlanta as of late Tuesday night, establishing a new mark for lowest temperature so far this season.
Farther south, temperatures will dip to near freezing along the Interstate 10 corridor from southern Alabama through northern Florida and along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, which will be the first time so far this season, or will match lows reached during an early November cold wave.
When a breeze is active into Wednesday, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will dip into the 20s and 30s over the mainland portion of the Southeast.
The chill will extend all the way down the Florida Peninsula, with temperatures dipping into the 40s for the first time this season around Orlando and even lower AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures. Temperatures could also sneak below the 60-degree mark in the Miami area.
Farther north, temperatures in New York City dove into the 20s for the first time this season late Tuesday night. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures may drop into the teens at times for those commuting to work, school or holiday season shopping. Winds are forecast to ease up Wednesday evening, but the air will remain chilly with temperatures near the freezing mark for the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures as low as the single digits are in store for the interior Northeast and over much of the Great Lakes region in the Midwest.
For those venturing on the highways over the interior Northeast, bands of heavy lake-effect snow will clog roads near the Great Lakes into Wednesday.
During the second half of the week, the temperature trend will reverse and recover to near the historical average over much of the eastern third of the nation. In some cases, temperatures may drift a bit above typical levels for early December. Highs within a few degrees of 50 are in store for New York City; the low to middle 50s in Washington, D.C., and the low to middle 60s in Atlanta.
At least one storm with rain and spotty thunderstorms will take a tour of the lower Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast at the end of the week. A second storm may affect part of the Southeast states over the weekend.
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