A glancing blow from the polar vortex will direct cold air southward and could raise the chance of snow in the central and eastern United States toward the middle of January.
The pattern of cold air coming and going will be a theme through January.
According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, “Arctic air will leave quickly, after giving the Great Lakes and Northeast a cold shock this week.”
Temperatures will rebound to above-average levels in much of the Midwest and Northeast during the latter part of this week and this coming weekend.
High temperatures will return to the 30s in Minneapolis, the 40s in Chicago, the 50s in Washington, D.C., and the 60s in Atlanta for multiple days. The warmup will be of short duration.
According to AccuWeather Chief Long Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok, “A major and far-reaching blast of cold air will sweep in over much of the Central and Eastern states next week [Jan. 10-17].”
The polar vortex will shift southward toward the Hudson Bay in Canada for a several-day stint during the second full week of January.
While this arctic blast is not uncommon for January, it will deliver a cold shock following record warmth during December. The cold will also affect a large swath of the nation.
While the core of the cold air with the arctic outbreak early this week focused on the Northeast, the outbreak next week will first plunge across the Rockies and Plains, before turning eastward.
Even though the air will moderate as it moves along this path, there is still the likelihood of the lowest temperatures of the season so far from the northern Rockies and Plains to the Midwest, South and East by the middle of the month.
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: AccuWeather, Alex Sosnowski
BCNN1 WP 