Northeast braces for coldest weekend of winter with snow, rapid freeze-up for some
Those traveling in or spending time outdoors in the Northeast this weekend will face some of the most extreme cold of the entire winter in terms of actual temperatures and how it feels.
Dangerous cold is expected to spread across the Northeast Friday night through Sunday as strong winds combine with snow showers, creating blowing snow, travel delays and AccuWeather RealFeel® temperatures as low as 10–25 below zero.
A brutally cold weekend awaits more than 100 million people in the northeastern quarter of the nation as Arctic air lunges southward straight from eastern Canada. The initial blast of cold air will bring a burst of snow to some areas, followed by a rapid freeze-up and harsh, gusty winds.
The air will have little chance to warm on its southward journey, as the landscape is largely frozen, with vast areas of deep snow and frozen lakes and rivers. The only large body of water with little ice is Lake Ontario, but it never freezes over because of its depth. If, when the stats are tallied, this weekend does not officially bring the lowest temperatures of the winter, it will feel like it in many cases for a time.
Enough wintry conditions will unfold to cause flight delays and cancellations, as well as slippery travel on area highways this weekend from the Midwest to the Northeast.
In most cases, the harshest part of the weekend will be the first half, when the bulk of the snow and wind will occur.
The snow will pivot from the Great Lakes region to the Appalachians during the day Friday. Some areas around the Great Lakes and the west-facing slopes of the Appalachians will pick up 1-3 inches of snow from the setup. The first part of the snowfall may occur with temperatures near or just above freezing. Then, as Arctic air blasts in, the snow will become more powdery, and wet, slushy areas will quickly freeze.
The amount of snow will tend to dwindle east of the Appalachians in the mid-Atlantic region. For some, there may just be a couple of snow showers that bring little or no accumulation, then it will get dry, windy and very cold.
However, in parts of New England, an enhanced area of snow may form as a storm develops along the Arctic front as it nears the Atlantic, producing an inch or more on Saturday.
"It's possible there's a narrow zone where 4-5 inches of snow falls over southern and central New England on Saturday," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
Timeline of weather events in various cities
In Detroit, the Arctic front will bring bursts of snow through Friday midday. After a morning high of 35 degrees Fahrenheit, temperatures will plunge through the 20s and into the teens, causing the 1-3 inches of snow and slush to freeze solid, creating difficult commutes on Friday. Temperatures will bottom out in the single digits on Saturday morning and fight back to only the mid-teens Saturday afternoon, only to fall back to near 5 degrees Saturday night.
Farther east, snow will begin in New York City Friday evening and continue at varying rates into the early hours of Saturday morning. On Friday night, temperatures will hover in the 20s, only to fall into the teens on Saturday during the day, despite a return of sunshine. Those heading into Manhattan for a Saturday show should brace for the dead-of-winter cold. Temperatures will bottom out in the single digits Saturday night and again Sunday night. The lowest temperature in New York City so far this winter was 9 degrees on a couple of occasions in the last week of January. Temperatures are forecast to dip lower than that on Sunday and Monday mornings.
In Boston, the snow will hold off until late Friday night, but Saturday is likely to be quite wintry with snow of varying intensity and temperatures plummeting into the teens in the afternoon and then to the single digits Saturday night. After temperatures fight their way into the teens on Sunday, temperatures will slip back into the single digits on Sunday night. Temperatures are projected to dip below the season low mark of 5 F on Monday morning.
Wicked winds, dangerously low AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures
"Not only will the air temperature plummet after the Arctic front moves through, but north-northwest winds with gusts of 35-55 mph will also occur, resulting in AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures falling to dangerously low levels," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. Actual temperatures will drop into the single digits or below zero across much of the Northeast.
"For those in the Midwest, this will be a glancing blow, and it will not bring the lowest temperatures of the winter, but not so for the Northeast," Rayno said. "This is a direct blast of frigid air."
Those not properly dressed risk frostbite and hypothermia. Skiers, boarders and snowmobilers should be prepared for the extreme conditions.
In most cases, Sunday will end up being the less harsh of the two weekend days, with winds forecast to ease up in the afternoon. But temperatures will start the day at frigid levels. Only the February sun will offer some comfort during the midday and afternoon when cruising around in the car.
In the Northeast, temperatures will plummet Sunday evening in locations where the sky remains clear.
Tens of thousands were still without power in Tennessee and Mississippi as of early Thursday morning in the wake of a devastating ice storm nearly two weeks ago. Fortunately, this Arctic blast will not penetrate deeply into the Southern states and should stay north of the Florida Peninsula, which was recently hit hard by damaging freezes.
From Saturday night to Sunday, as warmer air begins to build over the northern Rockies and Plains, a batch of snow is likely to develop over the Great Lakes region and slide southeastward across parts of the Ohio Valley and the central Appalachians.
For those struggling with the relentless cold and bracing for high heating bills, there is some good news on the way for weeks two and three of February.
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