Chilly Autumn Air Heads For East Coast

UPDATED 6:30 PM EDT, October 21, 2013

UPDATED By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Seth Carrier

 

 

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The first real taste of autumn is in store for the Midwest and Northeast over the next few days as a potent cold front will open the door to a cool Canadian blast.

This front will make its way across the Midwest and into the East over the next 24 to 48 hours. Brisk northwesterly winds will start to push cold, Canadian air southward into the Ohio Valley on Tuesday. By Tuesday night, it will clear the East Coast.

Freeze Watches have been issued from eastern Iowa to extreme northwestern Ohio, including southern Wisconsin. The cities of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, South Bend, Ind., Chicago, and Milwaukee are all included. Frost Advisories are in place to the south of the watches, from western Illinois to central Ohio, including Indianapolis, Springfield, Ill., and Toledo, Ohio.

All but the warmest city centers are expected to see frost develop over the next few mornings, bringing an end to the growing season. Be sure to protect your plants by covering them or bringing them inside before bed each night this week.

By the time the front arrives on the East Coast, the coldest air will moderate a bit, but near- to below-freezing temperatures at night are expected from Boston to Washington by the latter half of the week. The first frost of the season is possible for the interior Mid-Atlantic later this week.

As if that weren`t enough, the colder air will rev up the lake-effect machine beginning on Wednesday with a cold rain during the day changing over to snow during the nighttime hours. A bit of accumulation is possible on grassy surfaces.