Follow
1.4M Followers
Story by Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
• 1h • 4 min read
Hoping for a January thaw? Dream on.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a milder-than-average winter for the East and the South? Toasty isn’t exactly how you will describe the bone-numbing coming days.
“Multiple waves of arctic air continue to gather over northern Canada with eyes for the central and eastern United States in the days and weeks ahead,” AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok said this week.
Renewal By AndersenThis is How Much New Windows Should Cost in 2025
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
The most potent blast will enter the north-central U.S. on Friday, the National Weather Service warned, before roaring across much of the rest of the nation over the weekend. Arctic air will plunge from the northern Rockies and Great Plains, crossing the Gulf Coast and Midwest on Saturday night and the Eastern Seaboard on Sunday night.
A bundled-up pedestrian walks in downtown Louisville on Jan. 10, 2025, as a nearby bank clock and temperature sign show a temperature of -13 degrees Celsius or 10 degrees Fahrenheit.© Matt Stone/Courier Journal/USA Today Network via Imagn Images
“By Tuesday, the entire Lower 48 (will be) blasted with extreme Arctic cold. … The first days of the new Trump administration will be heavily focused on weather-related problems,” meteorologist Ryan Maue posted on X this week.
Even parts of the west coast of Greenland will be warmer than Texas, he said.
“Now is the time to prepare for an extended period of time of cold weather,” the weather service said.
How cold will it get?
As is typical, the coldest weather will be over the northern Plains and upper Midwest, where some spots may see subzero high temperatures next Sunday and Monday. Low temperatures are forecast to dip to 20 below zero or even lower.
Wind chills should be even colder and more dangerous.
likonlineBest Christmas Gift: The Best Cordless Table Lamp for Making Your Room a Whole
“Dangerous to life-threatening wind chills are expected” in North Dakota, and readings of 40 below are possible Sunday morning and again Monday morning, the weather service said. “This poses a great risk of hypothermia and frostbite to exposed skin. Have a cold weather kit if traveling.”
Minnesota-based meteorologist Paul Douglas said on X Wednesday: “It’s not cheap hype: the bitter air arriving Sunday through Tuesday originated over Siberia. Expect subzero highs Sunday and Monday with -20 to -30F wind chills. This will probably be the coldest air of the winter.”
Frigid forecasts
In New York City, highs will be mainly in the 20s next week and nighttime lows in the 10s. “It is possible that on at least one day, highs may struggle to reach 20 (degrees) and night temperatures could dip into the single digits,” AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Insurance Auto Advice{Washington Big Changes Near {Okanogan Leaves Drivers Fuming
In Atlanta, highs will be in the 30s for the first half of next week but could recover later in the week. Nighttime lows will be mainly in the 20s Monday and beyond when the arctic air arrives.
In Houston, there may be a couple of days when temperatures reach no higher than 40 degrees with nighttime lows in the 20s to near 30 degrees, meaning a hard freeze is possible. “Hard freezes can be hazardous to people, pets, plants and pipes,” the weather service in Houston said. Sosnowski added that “at this level, which is 20-25 degrees below the historical average, pipes in exposed or unheated areas may freeze and burst.”
In Chicago, at least one day is likely to bring temperatures no higher than the single digits, AccuWeather said. Multiple nights with temperatures below zero are expected next week. “This renewed period of frigid temperatures will also likely lead to an increased threat for ice jams on area rivers next week,” the weather service in Chicago said.
What about snow?
Along with the bitter cold will come multiple chances for snow in the central, southern and eastern U.S. What may ultimately turn out to be the most significant storm is forecast for next week in the South: “The track and intensity of that storm will determine if heavy snow falls on parts of the Southern states and if some of that snow is able to reach into the Mid-Atlantic for the middle of next week,” Sosnowski said.
1 / 2
©Scott Eisen, Getty Images
People sled with their dog on the Boston Common following a snowstorm on Dec. 21, 2024 in Boston.
Does this cold snap jibe with the preseason winter forecast?
The winter forecast from the federal government – which covered December, January and February – predicted a warmer-than-average winter for the southern and eastern U.S. So far, January has been very cold, especially in the eastern half of the nation, but December was the fourth-warmest on record, nationally.
Get unlimited digital access to USA TODAY and premium Sports+ storiesOne month freeGet it now
So the jury is still out on NOAA’s preseason temperature forecast. “I’m always a bit nervous to make claims about winter with months left before the season is over,” NOAA meteorologist Tom DiLiberto said in a recent email to USA TODAY. “We’ve seen in past years how one month can impact the seasonal pattern.”
As for precipitation, he said, “so far this winter, the patterns seen over the U.S., including drier than average conditions across the southern tier, and wetter than average conditions in the Pacific Northwest, are consistent with the historically expected La Niña pattern, and also generally consistent with the winter outlook issued in November 2024.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arctic blast about to invade US. What happened to warm winter predictions?
Exposing the Big Game 