Plunging temperatures, snow chances signal return of typical January winter weather to eastern US
Following an unusually warm pattern over the last week or so, residents across the East will observe a return of winter weather this week.
With plenty of cold and opportunities for snow in the forecast in the Midwest and Northeast, now’s the time to get ahead with the free AccuWeather app and one of its main features, WinterCast.
A large sector of the eastern United States that has recently received an abnormally warm stretch of weather will get a temperature trend and wintertime pattern return closer to what is typical in mid-January.
Some locations across the northern tier of the nation that previously had several inches of snow on the ground had most of it melt away or turn to slush over the last week. The remaining snowpack across portions of the Great Lakes, New York state and New England could still be at risk for melting over the upcoming days before true January cold returns.
Feeling more like January again
While there can be widespread highs in the 40s and 50s across major cities from Chicago and Detroit to Philadelphia and New York City on Tuesday, the week may end with temperatures plunging back into the 20s and 30s.
The transition back to typical mid-January temperatures will be more noticeable later this week compared to the first few days. As the week progresses, however, the cold air mass will filter south and east, bringing even maximum daytime temperatures in the teens and 20s to parts of the Dakotas, eastern Montana, western Minnesota and the Midwest by late week.
"This past Friday, Buffalo, New York, had a high of 61 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly 30 degrees F above their historical average high for the date and more in line of their typical high in late April," explained AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski. "However, a return to Arctic air will send high temperatures back down into the 20s later this week in cities such as Buffalo, a 40-degree F swing in less than a week’s time."
Winter weather impacts this week
Aside from some intermittent snow and flurries that developed east of Lake Ontario and into New York state on Monday, the Midwest and the Northeast remained largely dry.
On Tuesday, a bit more moisture will advance across the region as a storm plunging southeast across southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada, produces a swath of snow and rain from northern Minnesota into Michigan.
Cold air will filter in behind this storm from Canada, but as moisture on the leading edge of the storm spreads across the Ohio Valley and interior Northeast, temperatures will still be able to support precipitation falling in the form of plain showers ahead of the cooler conditions arriving.
By Tuesday night, additional periods of snow and snow showers will expand across Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, while sporadic showers push south and east across the Ohio Valley.
Monitoring potential impacts from mid- to late-week storm
By Wednesday, the storm will swing east across southern Canada, ushering cold air into the Great Lakes region. As a result, accumulating snow will begin to spread across far northern Wisconsin, Michigan, northeastern Illinois, Indiana and into Ohio and surrounding regions.
Plowable accumulations are expected with the risk for hefty lake-effect bands to set up along the southern and eastern shores of the Great Lakes. Forecasters warn that there may be a tight gradient in snowfall totals across northwestern Indiana due to the nature of the snow bands that could develop off Lake Michigan.
Visibility can be sharply reduced in the heaviest bands that develop off the lakes, leading to slower or near-impossible travel at times.
As the storm tracks east, snow is forecast to spread across the Appalachians and the Northeast into Thursday night.
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Cold and snow chances continue through mid-January
The weather pattern setting up this week across the northern and eastern U.S. is likely to continue.
The next round of snow for the Great Lakes is forecast on Thursday night and Friday, bringing a quick 1-3 inches of snow across much of the region.
The heaviest snowfall totals are forecast across Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and downwind of the lakes in Michigan. Slippery travel is likely again with this storm.
Much of the same is expected for the region into mid-January.
"A southward dip in the jet stream will allow for rounds of cold air and multiple storms from Canada to move into the Great Lakes and Northeast through the middle of the month," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson.
Anderson noted that this weather pattern does not favor moisture from the Gulf to be pulled up into the storms. This lack of moisture is likely to limit the potential for widespread blockbuster snow totals aside from the typical lake-effect areas.
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