A chilling blast of Arctic air is expected to hit the eastern parts of the US on Thanksgiving, and the cold weather could be here to stay.
Meteorologists predicted that the Arctic outbreak will first arrive in the northern Rockies and northern Plains on Thursday into Friday, then advance farther south and east through much of the Plains and Midwest this weekend.
Theses regions could see temperatures drop to as low as -30 to -40 °F.
The latest forecast from the National Weather Service (NWS) also showed colder temperatures will spread into the southern and eastern US on the holiday, with some parts seeing low temperatures in the 20s over the weekend.
An Arctic outbreak occurs when an extremely cold air mass crosses over the north pole into Canada and moves southeast into the US.
The air mass typically originates in Siberia and causes temperatures to plummet in eastern states.
By Saturday morning, nearly 200 million Americans will wake up to below-freezing temperatures, according to Weather.com.
‘Dangerous wind chill temperatures are expected with a significant long duration lake effect snow event possible downwind of the Great Lakes. Severe thunderstorms may be possible in the Southeast,’ NWS officials stated.
Such conditions significantly increase the risk of hypothermia and frostbite on exposed skin. Travelers are advised to carry a winter survival kit if travel is unavoidable.
A chilling blast of Arctic air is expected to sweep across the eastern US this weekend and early next week, and the cold weather could be here to stay
Overall, weekend temperatures in many locations will be more typical of mid-January, the NWS station in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said in a post on X.
It will be especially cold in the US Heartland, where temperatures are expected to be the coldest since February, according to the NWS.
Minimum wind chills are expected to drop below 0 °F across much of the northern Plains and upper Midwest.
In parts of the Dakotas, wind chills are forecasted to plunge below -15 °F, with some areas experiencing temperatures as low as -30 to -40 °F.
These conditions will increase the risk of hypothermia and frostbite on exposed skin.
The NWS has advised Holiday travelers to pack a winter survival kit and only travel if absolutely necessary.
Daytime high temperatures could be stuck below freezing for parts of the northern US, including the Great Lakes, the Northeast and the Ohio Valley, Cory Baggett, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center, told USA TODAY on Monday.
Most states affected by this Artic outbreak are unlikely to see snow. But in the Great Lakes region, this blast of cold air could trigger feet of lake-effect snowfall
Overnight lows could sink into the teens, and wind chill will make the temperature feel even colder, he added.
As for southern states, this blast of wintery weather is bad news for some farmers.
‘We are concerned about freezing overnight low temperatures reaching the Gulf Coast and northern portions of Florida, where citrus crops may be vulnerable,’ Baggett said.
‘Despite anomalously cold temperatures, we are currently not expecting widespread record-breaking cold temperatures. That said, this will likely be the coldest air of the season thus far.’
For the eastern US, temperatures will reach their lowest point this weekend and early next week.
But it will still be some time before temperatures rise back into a normal range. Below-average temperatures could persist through December 3 to 9 or longer, especially in Mid-Atlantic states.
Most states affected by this Artic outbreak are unlikely to see snow. But in the Great Lakes region, this blast of cold air could trigger feet of lake-effect snowfall.
AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok told USA TODAY that western New York could get so much snow that it shuts down roads and could lead to airport delays, potentially disrupting holiday travel.
Meanwhile, western states recovering from the recent bomb cyclone and atmospheric river will see some much-needed warm, dry weather.
