Winter will make a spectacular comeback next weekend, when two powerful blasts of Arctic air rush throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States, bringing the season’s coldest temperatures yet. Meteorologists are urging citizens to prepare for a deep freeze, with widespread below-average temperatures and sub-zero wind chills extending from the Great Lakes to the east coast.
Arctic Front to Bring a Serious December Chill
This Article Includes
According to the most recent CPC and pivotalweather.com forecasts, a significant pattern shift will occur beginning Saturday, December 13, and extending until midweek. The 6- to 10-day prediction predicts an extreme cold anomaly extending across much of the central and eastern United States, with the Midwest and Great Lakes regions likely experiencing the most severe temperature reductions.
Temperatures are expected to fall 15-30 degrees below average, with wind chills approaching or below zero across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. This frigid outbreak follows a succession of early-December chill occurrences, but forecasts say the upcoming weekend will be a true Arctic plummet.
Deep Freeze Targets Millions Across the East
The Eastern Seaboard, including New York, Virginia, and the Carolinas, is also anticipated to suffer the effects as Arctic air creeps eastward. While the South may temporarily dodge the hardest cold, portions of Tennessee and northern Alabama may still experience nightly lows in the 20s and 30s.
Meteorologists describe this oncoming pattern as a “flip of the switch” moment in December, transitioning from a warm start to one of the coldest periods of the season thus far. The Arctic air mass is predicted to linger, sustaining cold temperatures throughout the next week.
What Residents Should Expect
- Major temperature drop beginning late next week
- Sub-zero wind chills across the Midwest and Great Lakes
- Cold eastward expansion through the Appalachians and into the Atlantic coast
- Possible light snow and ice hazards as the Arctic front advances
Forecasters advise households to prepare early for the freeze, check heating systems, and reduce outside exposure during peak cold periods. With wind chill values forecast to plummet, frostbite could develop within minutes in unprotected situations.
This mid-December Arctic incursion is yet another stark warning that winter has come, and the pattern may not change anytime soon. Long-term forecasts indicate that other cold surges could occur later in the month, leaving much of the United States in a profound chill through the holidays.
