Season's Coldest Air Sweeps the North-Central and Eastern U.S.: Freeze Warnings in Effect as the Great Lakes Region Sees Its First Snow
An unusually strong area of high pressure brought the coldest air of the season so far to millions of residents this weekend, TheWeather.com reported, drawing on National Weather Service information. A strong cold front exited the East Coast late in the week, and the cold air initially affected the Plains, the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes before spreading eastward into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, the Appalachians and the Mid-Atlantic through Saturday night.
Freeze Warnings and Frost Advisories were in effect across large portions of the Plains, Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, with temperatures dropping sharply and gusty northwest winds making conditions feel even more wintry. Forecasters said the combination of widespread frost and freezing temperatures could bring an end to the growing season for many communities, leaving sensitive plants, gardens and late-season crops vulnerable.
AccuWeather reported that cold air from Canada swept into the Great Lakes, New England, the northern Appalachians and the mid-Atlantic to end the week and start the weekend, erasing near-record heat in some areas, and that Saturday was expected to be the coldest day since early in 2026. RealFeel temperatures on Saturday morning dipped into the 20s and 30s across the interior and hovered in the 30s to lower 40s along much of the Interstate 95 corridor, while actual highs were in the 30s and 40s over the northern Appalachians. As the cold air passed over the Great Lakes it produced lake-effect snow showers, with a possibility of thundersnow; parts of the northern Great Lakes and the interior Northeast saw the first snow of the season, with snow showers across higher terrain from north-central Pennsylvania to western, central and northern New York and northwestern New England.
(GSM via TheWeather.com and AccuWeather via Men's Journal)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons 文件 File:Lake effect snow bands over the Great Lakes region (2268-643).jpg，作者 NOAA，Public domain。图为五大湖区湖效应降雪带卫星云图。
