Winter Makes a Comeback This Black Friday

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

November 19,2012; 4:10PM,EST

Shoppers across the Midwest will not only be dealing with crowded stores and longer lines this Black Friday, but also frigid air and even some snow as winter makes a comeback.
Winter will first make its comeback across the northern Plains Thanksgiving Day, having those taking advantage of early shopping deals Thursday night shivering.
Frigid winds will be howling and even some snowflakes will be flying as many residents of the northern Plains will be heading out Thursday evening.
The bitter cold will then invade the Midwest on Black Friday, holding temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below Thanksgiving Day's mild highs of the 50s and 60s.

See Also:Winter Update: Sandy a Sign of Winter to Come
Christmas Trees Wither Under Midwest Drought
NYC Thanksgiving Parade Balloons Survive Hurricane Sandy

For places from the central Great Lakes to the lower Ohio Valley, Friday's high will actually coincide with early morning Black Friday shopping deals as temperatures will spend the rest of the day holding steady or plunging.
Making the day even less desirable to be outside, blustery winds will create even colder AccuWeather.com RealFeel® temperatures.
Drivers on Black Friday will also have to contend with snow showers and heavier lake-effect squalls reducing visibility and creating slick travel from northern Minnesota to northern Michigan.
Rain showers along the leading edge of the cold blast will dampen places from the eastern Great Lakes to Kentucky.

Weather Elsewhere Across the U.S. on Black Friday
The bitter cold blast and blustery winds are also headed to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, but not until Saturday. Shoppers and anyone enjoying the day outside will instead be treated to mild temperatures on Friday.
The chance for a shower will extend as far eastward as the Interstate 81 corridor on Friday, while a dry day unfolds for the entire Interstate 95 corridor from Portland, Maine, to Miami, Fla.
Black Friday shoppers will also be treated to dry and comfortable weather throughout the Southwest.
The Northwest will endure yet another Pacific storm system on Friday. More rain and mountain snow will stream onshore with the heaviest centered on western Washington.
Gusty winds preceding this storm system will whip places to the lee of the Rocky Mountains in Montana, including Cut Bank and Great Falls.
Thumbnail photo provided by Andreas Rodriguez/Photos.com.