Coldest air since last winter to blast Midwest, East
Just in time for the official start of the holiday shopping season, a blast of cold air will expand its reach from the northern Plains through the Midwest and into much of the eastern United States late this week and this weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
"The cold blast will feel like January and will deliver a significant shock to hundreds of millions of people who may have gotten used to warm conditions during much of the autumn," AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
Property owners who have not yet finished winterizing plumbing and weatherproofing may want to do so as soon as possible. Freezing temperatures will lunge deep into the Southeast, and the frigid air will be wind-driven and penetrating in the Midwest and Northeast.
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The outbreak will deliver the first subzero Fahrenheit temperatures of the season to parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota in time for Thanksgiving. Temperatures may dip to near the freezing mark for the first time this season around Dallas. The same may be true for Atlanta by Saturday morning.
As the Arctic air advances, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will plunge and will add to the discomfort.
RealFeel® Temperatures will dip into the single digits around Chicago by Friday morning with eyes for much of the rest of the Midwest and the interior Northeast this weekend in the wake of a storm packing snow and rain.
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Even though the cold air will come in waves well into December and there will be some breaks in the cold in between each wave, temperatures will end up being substantially lower this December versus last December in the Midwest and much of the Northeast.
"For example, temperatures in Minneapolis last December were 12 degrees above the historical average," Pastelok explained. "This December, we believe temperatures will be perhaps a few degrees below the historical average with an approximate difference of 15 degrees for the month as a whole."
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In the Northeast, temperatures were generally 4-8 degrees above the historical average last December and will probably end up within a couple of degrees of average this December. So even in the Northeast, it will be significantly colder this year versus last year for the upcoming month, Pastelok added.
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Those attending late-season football games in the Midwest and East this weekend will need to bundle up. For holiday shoppers and Broadway showgoers in New York City, RealFeel Temperatures will dip into the 20s and teens at times this weekend.
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Another result of the blast of Arctic air will be a major lake-effect snow event that can leave some communities downwind of the Great Lakes buried in feet of snow.
"At this time, it looks like the heaviest snow will be set up south of Buffalo, New York, and in the more typical west-to-east or northwest-to-southeast aligned bands," Rayno said.
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"However, there may be a period where the heavy snow band tries to shift into the city," Rayno added.
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