The polar vortex is bringing much-needed cold air to much of the United States, but forecasters say the low temperatures won’t last.
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Forecasters say the first snowstorm of the season targeting major cities in the Northeast will dump several inches of snow over the weekend, followed by a fierce arctic blast thanks to the polar vortex.
The cold weather will not last long, with forecasters predicting a mild return to winter from coast to coast, potentially dooming dreams of a white Christmas for millions of people.
But first, a weekend storm will bring light to moderate snow to the central and northeastern United States.
Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue, calling it a “baby nor’easter,” said in an email to USA TODAY that many people will experience at least 3 inches of snow from the storm.
On Sunday, Dec. 14, he said, “Snowfall could be heavy in three to six hour bursts, with snow accumulations of three to six inches, possibly more.”
By the end of the storm, Sunday, Dec. 14, 1 to 6 inches of snow will fall along a 1,500-mile swath from the northern Plains to the southern New England coast, according to AccuWeather’s online forecast. The storm will be concentrated along much of I-70 in the Ohio Valley region, and then along the heavily populated I-95 corridor from Maryland to Massachusetts.
“Mother Vein of Cold Air” Heads to the United States
A much-anticipated frigid arctic airflow will spread across the north-central United States on Saturday, Dec. 13, heading east and south.
“There is an atmosphere over northwestern Canada with temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below zero that is moving southeast toward the United States,” AccuWeather chief broadcast meteorologist Bernie Rayno said in an online forecast. “This is a mother lode of cold air, a term I don’t use lightly.”
“A cold high-pressure system will spread across the Midwest, Ohio, and Tennessee valleys, with temperatures well below normal, extending into the Gulf Coast early Monday, December 15, with temperatures 15 to 30 degrees below normal,” the National Weather Service said in a statement.
The weather service said several record low temperatures are possible, with wind chills dropping into the teens Sunday night into Monday morning across the southeastern Atlantic Ocean and south of Mexico’s Gulf Coast.
The National Weather Service in Columbia, South Carolina, has issued an “extreme cold watch” for the region, warning that “extended periods of below-freezing temperatures can cause water pipe bursts. Be sure to protect outdoor faucets and drips to prevent water pipe bursts.”
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The forecast predicts that the snow will melt in December.
But the weather service said the weather system in the western U.S. could push temperatures 15 to 25 degrees above seasonal averages, with temperatures in the low 48s extending across much of the east from midweek onwards and “causing the December snowmelt.”
“While the cold and snow may already feel like Christmas time, this severe cold pattern is not expected to continue into the holidays,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
According to AccuWeather, the vast snowpack still accumulating from this weekend’s storms is likely to be eroded by warmer temperatures ahead of Christmas. This could wreak havoc on millions of people’s dreams of a white Christmas.
“It’s cold and snowy now, so don’t expect it to be that way on Christmas Day,” Pastelok said in an online forecast. “Skiers and snowboarders should take advantage of the cold air and fresh powder on open Appalachian slopes. Ski and board conditions may deteriorate during Christmas week at some resorts due to the influx of warm air.”
Meanwhile, those looking for warmth, or at least the idea of warmth, through this weekend can look to much of the Florida peninsula and west of the Rocky Mountains, except for foggy areas of California’s Central Valley and flooded areas of the Pacific Northwest, AccuWeather said.
But could the polar vortex rear its ugly head again?
Maue said in an email that a ridge of high pressure will form coast-to-coast in the Lower 48 by Dec. 22, “but questions remain as to whether Christmas is a ‘blowing of the torch’ or whether the polar vortex could strike back and drop some (very cold) troughs and foliage into the Great Lakes and Northeast.”
Maue said the warming pattern must eventually break and Canada’s cold pool will return to the lower 48 degrees. “But there is no clear indication (yet) of when or how that will happen.”
