Arctic Blast To Dive South Late This Week

With winter on the horizon, the first arctic blast of the season looks to make an appearance. It looks like the eastern U.S. will experience this arctic blast, and could experience temperatures up to 20 degrees below average. These temperatures will most likely be the coldest of the season so far.

The well below average air will take shape in northern Canada in the late hours of Tuesday, and rapidly push its way southeast. The air will first make its way to the Midwest, and bring temperatures in the teens and single digits to much of the region. This is where the coldest air in the U.S. will probably be recorded.

The arctic air will then make its way east. The cold air will probably weaken a little bit, but the ECMWF model has much colder air making its way into the Northeast than the GFS model does. The coldest of the air will make its way into the region on Friday night and into the early hours of Saturday.

Temperatures below freezing could be recorded as far south as northern South Carolina. The interior northeast will be looking at temperatures in the teens, and possibly even in the single digits, while the more coastal areas will be looking at temperatures in the 20's and low 30's.

Overall, this arctic event signals the start of the cold months of the year for the U.S. Many people in the Northeast will see their first frosts and freezes of the season. Cold like this can damage plants and freeze water, so make sure to bring plants indoors, and turn off the water the runs to your hose. No snow should come from this event, but we shouldn't have to wait too much longer for some!

Forecaster Nikhil Trivedi

Twitter: @DCAreaWx