Cold air to freeze midwestern, northeastern US; Lake-effect snow to bury Great Lakes

By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

December 18,2015; 9:29PM,EST

 

 

The first blast of cold air of the month for the Midwest and Northeast will trigger flurries and bands of lake-effect snow through Saturday night.
For many locations, the cold blast will be limited to a couple of days.

Finally feeling like December

JUMP TO: Cold air builds across Midwest, East| Bands of heavy snow to blanket Great Lakes | Cold air to leave prior to official start of winter
The cold air will come as a shock only because of prevailing warmth since the beginning of November.
Temperatures in portions of the Midwest and Northeast have averaged 10 degrees Fahrenheit above normal or greater through December thus far.
Cold air builds across Midwest, East
Cold winds will contribute to AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the teens and 20s across much of the region through Saturday. Anyone heading out to shop on the final weekend before Christmas will need to bundle up as you head outdoors.

Actual temperatures will range from 10 degrees below average over the northern Plains to near average around and downwind of the Great Lakes.
"The core of the cold will focus on the Upper Midwest," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said. "On at least one of the two days, temperatures will be held to no higher than the teens in Fargo, North Dakota and may be no higher than the freezing mark in Chicago."
RELATED:
AccuWeather winter weather center
Snow drought, extreme warmth create 'extremely challenging' season for Northeast ski resort
Millions of US Christmas travelers may face storm-related delays
The coldest air will settle over the Interstate-95 corridor on Saturday, where temperatures have struggled to dip to the freezing mark from Boston to Washington, D.C., thus far.
In New York City's Central Park, the temperature has dipped to 32 only once on Nov. 24, prior to this weekend.
Bands of heavy snow to blanket Great Lakes
As the air passes over the waters of the Great Lakes, the air will warm slightly. As a result, it will not get as cold as if the lakes were colder or frozen. However, the open and unusually warm waters will cause lake-effect snow to be quite heavy.
The most organized bands of snow will form off the upper parts of lakes Superior and Michigan into Friday night and across lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario on Saturday into Saturday night.
The snow can be accompanied by thunder and lightning in some cases.

The natural snow will give winter sports fanatics a chance to ski and snowmobile.
According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson, "The highest snowfall totals will fall downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario."
Snowfall totals across the Tug Hill Plateau in upstate New York could receive between 1 and 2 feet of snow by Sunday. A few locations could receive slightly higher amounts.
"Off Lake Erie, Jamestown, New York, could receive up to a foot of snow by the time the snow ends on Sunday morning," Adamson said.
Motorists should expect locally heavy snow and difficult travel along portions of Interstates 81, 86, 90, 94, 96 and 196. The fast rate of snow could shut down portions of I-90 and I-81.
Outside of any heavy snow bands, flurries will occur across most areas around the Great Lakes as well as the Appalachians.
Snowflakes may dance across Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo, New York.
Buffalo will have the chance of receiving its first measurable snowfall of the season this weekend. Meanwhile, the record for latest date of the first 0.1 of an inch of snow continues to be stretched later and later. Prior to this season, the latest date for measurable snow was on Dec. 3, 1899. The latest date for an inch of snow or more was on Jan. 4, 1937.

The brevity of the cold weather will prevent snowfall from being heavier.
Cold air to leave prior to official start of winter
Temperatures will begin to rebound from west to east spanning Saturday over the northern Plains, Sunday in much of the Midwest and Monday in the Northeast.
The first several days of winter will feel more like spring. Winter officially begins on 11:49 p.m. EST, Monday, Dec. 21. Temperatures could challenge record high levels by Wednesday.
Storms forecast to take aim on the region next week will bring rain and not snow to the vast majority of the East.
Content contributed by AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.