Surge of Arctic air to send temperatures plummeting in the Midwest, Northeast
By
Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist &
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jan 18, 2020 12:14 PM EDT
In the wake of a massive storm that brought blizzard conditions to the Plains, damaging freezing rain to the Midwest, and heavy snow to the Great Lakes and Northeast, wintry conditions will return with a vengeance in the coming days.
A northerly wind on the back side of the storm system will usher in a cold, Canadian air mass through the end of the weekend and into early week.
Areas that picked up accumulating snowfall from the departed storm could have near white-out conditions due to the strong winds, even as precipitation comes to an end.
Among the first to experience the cold will be places like Minot and Bismarck, North Dakota, where the actual air temperatures will likely fail to rise above zero through Sunday.
A northwest wind gusting over 40 mph at times will send AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures some 25-35 degrees Fahrenheit below the air temperature.
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The brutally cold air will continue to expand eastward on Sunday, stretching into the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Northeast.
As the cold breeze tracks over the lakes, lake-effect snow will pick up in earnest, adding to the snow totals after the main storm system departs.
While the core of the cold weather will remain over the Plains and Midwest on Sunday, plenty of places across the interior Northeast could experience AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the single digits.
In conditions like this, outdoor exposure can become dangerous, so residents of the region should use caution. In the core of the cold across the Upper Midwest, frostbite can occur to exposed skin in less than 20 minutes.
After another cold Sunday night and Monday morning, the cold will ease ever so slightly across the Northern Plains throughout the day on Monday, allowing high temperatures to break the 0 degree mark.
In other parts of the country, however, below-normal temperatures will still hold. Afternoon high temperatures will still be running as much as 5-10 degrees below normal across the Upper Midwest through the Northeast.
Afternoon high temperatures will also drop significantly across the Tennessee Valley and into the South. After AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the teens during the morning, Atlanta will only rebound to a high of 41 in the afternoon. Nashville looks to struggle to reach the middle 30s.
Temperatures are set to remain below average through at least midweek as a southerly shift in the jet stream allows the polar vortex to stretch southward toward the United States.
Although the cold air will be socked into these areas through midweek, the weather pattern will otherwise remain quiet.
No major storm systems are expected to impact the area until at least the latter half of this week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Surge of Arctic air to send temperatures plummeting in the Midwest, Northeast
By Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist & Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jan 18, 2020 12:14 PM EDT
In the wake of a massive storm that brought blizzard conditions to the Plains, damaging freezing rain to the Midwest, and heavy snow to the Great Lakes and Northeast, wintry conditions will return with a vengeance in the coming days.
A northerly wind on the back side of the storm system will usher in a cold, Canadian air mass through the end of the weekend and into early week.
Areas that picked up accumulating snowfall from the departed storm could have near white-out conditions due to the strong winds, even as precipitation comes to an end.
Among the first to experience the cold will be places like Minot and Bismarck, North Dakota, where the actual air temperatures will likely fail to rise above zero through Sunday.
A northwest wind gusting over 40 mph at times will send AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures some 25-35 degrees Fahrenheit below the air temperature.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The brutally cold air will continue to expand eastward on Sunday, stretching into the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Northeast.
As the cold breeze tracks over the lakes, lake-effect snow will pick up in earnest, adding to the snow totals after the main storm system departs.
While the core of the cold weather will remain over the Plains and Midwest on Sunday, plenty of places across the interior Northeast could experience AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the single digits.
In conditions like this, outdoor exposure can become dangerous, so residents of the region should use caution. In the core of the cold across the Upper Midwest, frostbite can occur to exposed skin in less than 20 minutes.
Related:
After another cold Sunday night and Monday morning, the cold will ease ever so slightly across the Northern Plains throughout the day on Monday, allowing high temperatures to break the 0 degree mark.
In other parts of the country, however, below-normal temperatures will still hold. Afternoon high temperatures will still be running as much as 5-10 degrees below normal across the Upper Midwest through the Northeast.
Afternoon high temperatures will also drop significantly across the Tennessee Valley and into the South. After AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the teens during the morning, Atlanta will only rebound to a high of 41 in the afternoon. Nashville looks to struggle to reach the middle 30s.
Temperatures are set to remain below average through at least midweek as a southerly shift in the jet stream allows the polar vortex to stretch southward toward the United States.
Although the cold air will be socked into these areas through midweek, the weather pattern will otherwise remain quiet.
No major storm systems are expected to impact the area until at least the latter half of this week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo