Midwinter-style cold blast to grip eastern US with over 100 million to be impacted
A major cold outbreak will grip the eastern U.S., ending the growing season in part of the South and triggering the season’s first snow and biting AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the single digits across the North.
High-elevation snow and cold rain are coming in three different bursts over the coming days.
The most significant cold outbreak since last spring is expected to unfold across the eastern United States from this weekend into early next week, bringing freezes to parts of the South and the first snows of the season to parts of the North.
The first wave of cold air will arrive with and behind a fast-moving storm system known as an Alberta Clipper, originating from southwestern Canada.
Behind the storm, colder air will surge southward across the Plains and Mississippi Valley this weekend.
The cold air will roll out of central Canada into this weekend and receive a further boost from a strengthening dip in the jet stream that is expected to develop by early next week.
Where it is windy, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures could fall 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit or more below the actual air temperature.
With these conditions, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will fall into the single digits across parts of the northern Plains and Northeast, and into the 30s and 40s during the day in the Southeast.
Some of the biggest abnormalities during the cold air outbreak will be centered on the interior Southeast and the Tennessee Valley by Monday, where temperature departures will range from 15 to 25 degrees below the historical average.
For example, in Atlanta on Monday, high temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-40s, which is more than 20 degrees below average for mid-November and 10 degrees below what is more common for January. Chicago will experience a couple of days with highs in the 30s on Sunday and Monday. Even on the Atlantic coast, where the cold air often struggles to settle in during the late autumn and early winter, highs in New York City will be in the 40s on Tuesday.
"Most areas in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri have only experienced brief periods of cold, with the lowest temperatures near or well above freezing so far this autumn," AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Tristan Irish said. "This is in sharp contrast to Sunday and Monday, where highs may only be in the 40s to 50s, with lows in the teens and 20s."
The cold will also bring an end to the growing season for areas that have yet to experience a hard freeze, stretching from parts of the Plains to the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast.
Residents are urged to protect outdoor plumbing and irrigation systems that have not been winterized, Irish added.
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