Arctic Blast to Bring ‘Major Cold Air’ to Midwest, Northeast: Forecasters

A winter-like mass of cold air is going to inundate the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States, bringing measurable snowfall totals, according to forecasters. (NWS Twitter)

A winter-like mass of cold air is going to inundate the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States Thursday night, bringing measurable snowfall totals, according to forecasters.

The National Weather Service (NWS) on Wednesday said that “temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees below average over parts of the Northern High Plains” while “snow will move into parts of the Northern Mid-Atlantic and New England overnight Thursday into Friday morning.”

Overall, “A cold-weather regime will impact the Eastern two-thirds of the U.S. the rest of this week through much of next week with below normal temperatures. The first of two strong cold fronts will pass through this extensive area over the next two days to start the cold wave, while producing heavy snow from the Great Lakes to northern New England and heavy rain from Texas to the Lower Mississippi Valley,” warned the NWS on the front page of its website.

Light snow will start to fall on Wednesday night in the upper Midwest, producing slippery roads. Light snow will also begin in the upper portions of the Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes region, which will also create hazardous road conditions, according to the agency.

Fox News’ meteorologists said that as many as four inches of snow could fall in Michigan and Wisconsin. Snow already began to fall in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with the Packers sharing Lambeau Field covered in snow.

“So this is our first storm system but I have to tell you, we have major cold air coming in Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and that will be a setup for measurable snow perhaps next week along the I-95 corridor,” Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean said in the report. “You have been warned.”

According to the Fox report, the forecasted air mass might bring temperatures to Minnesota that could break records set in November 1986.

Winter doesn’t officially start until Dec. 21. Some forecasters, including the Farmers’ Almanac and Old Farmer’s Almanac, have said that the upcoming 2019-2020 winter is forecast to be a snowy one.

“In the U.S., this winter will be remembered for strong storms bringing a steady roofbeat of heavy rain and sleet, not to mention piles of snow. The 2020 Old Farmer’s Almanac is calling for frequent snow events—from flurries to no fewer than seven big snowstorms from coast to coast, including two in April for the Intermountain region west of the Rockies,” it wrote on its website.

“Our extended forecast is calling for yet another freezing, frigid, and frosty winter for two-thirds of the country,” Farmers’ Almanac Editor and Philom Peter Geiger said in a press release on Aug. 26.

Last year’s prediction called for a long, snowy winter, and it turned out to be correct for much of the United States.

The 2019-2020 season, according to forecasters, will be another “wild ride” with heavy snow across much of the country, and they described it as a “polar coaster.”