Weekend Chill and Chance of Wintry Precipitation for East Coast

Forecasters have been warning for a few days that the upcoming weekend is setting up to be the coldest of the month, posing issues for college football fans, holiday shoppers, travelers, and anyone else at the mercy of Mother Nature.

Batch of Cold Air Headed Toward the Northeast for the Weekend

The last weekend before Christmas is certain to get you into the holiday spirit thanks to the cold weather. The end of the week in the Northeast will feature the remnants of an Alberta clipper as well as a coastal storm that is predicted to come together. Coming in after these storms will be a surge of frigid air that will send the mercury tumbling.

The cold air will arrive from Canada with winds coming from the north. Winds of this direction tend to support the lasting power of cold conditions.

The journey of the Alberta clipper coming down from Canada and across the Upper Midwest will bring in high winds by Friday. These gusty winds will translate to blowing and drifting snow for areas that already have snow cover.

The mercury will drop to about zero degrees in and around Minneapolis overnight Friday. This reading will follow a high of just 16 degrees on Friday under mostly sunny skies. Saturday's highs will barely inch up, hitting 18 degrees with a high of about 28 degrees on tap for Sunday.

Chicago will see the temperatures dip into the upper teens on Friday night. Saturday will not be much warmer with readings topping out in the upper 20s during the peak afternoon heating hours before falling back to about 19 degrees overnight. The greatest chance of snow for the Windy City will be overnight Thursday and into Friday. Accumulations of about an inch or two are expected at this time thanks to the lake-effect snow machine.

The influx of cold air will expand to the east to include Detroit with a forecast low in the upper teens on Friday night and readings that drop to about the 10-degree after the sun goes down on Saturday in the Motor City. Other cities that should brace for readings in this range include Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo.

Chances of Wintry Precipitation

While the clipper event is forecast to weaken as it nears the central portions of the Appalachians, its winds will be amplified by a storm system that is coming together off the coast of the Atlantic by the end of the week. This budding storm is expected to pick up in intensity last Friday and into Saturday, sending accumulating snowfall into the southeastern corner of New England.

For example, Providence, Rhode Island could see a smattering of snow flurries on Friday afternoon and into the overnight hours. After reaching a high of 40 degrees on Friday, the mercury will slip into the mid 20s overnight. It will be a bit breezy with winds hitting speeds of 10 to 15 mph.

The most widespread impact of the coastal storm will be the high winds that it produces. These winds will be elevated by the arrival of another mass of Arctic air diving to the south from Canada and into the Northeast. Unlike the batch of cold air that came along for the ride with the clipper, this fresh infusion will not be warmed as it moves over the Great Lakes.

Saturday is expected to be the coldest day of the weekend for the majority of the interior Northeast and the upper portions of the Great Lakes region. When paired with the gusty winds, the real feel readings will hover in the 10s in the major metropolitan areas along the Interstate 95 corridor, including New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston. It will only be slightly warmer in Washington, D.C. with real feel readings landing in the low 20s.

You can expect the highest winds in the open rural areas as well as in the concrete canyons that dot the landscape of many of the large cities in this populated region. The powerful winds will begin to dial back in the Great Lakes by late Saturday, however, the gusty conditions will linger into Sunday for the coastal Northeast.

This batch of cold air will have some staying power. For instance, New York City will top out with highs in the mid 20s on Sunday and will only increase slightly on Monday. Overnight lows will plummet into the 10s on both Saturday and Sunday night, good enough to equal the lowest readings in the Big Apple since last January.

A building area of high pressure across the Northeast will work to knock down the wind speeds on Sunday and Monday. The lake-effect snow will also begin to ease at this point in the eastern Great Lakes.

Unfortunately, another storm system headed into the Northeast may make it into the region before the temperatures begin to climb significantly. This means that some communities will be at risk of experiencing wintry precipitation in the days leading up to Christmas. Check back later this week to see how this system is developing and if the timing will support the chance of snow on Christmas Day for some areas.

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