TOMS RIVER-The weather today will be an unseasonable 62 degrees and sunny, but that will give way to record low temperatures across New Jersey as the week goes on.
…The coldest surge of arctic air so far this season will bring widespread record low temperatures for much of the central and eastern U.S. even down to the Gulf Coast… …Accumulating snow is expected to impact areas from the Great Lakes to northern New England… The coldest surge of arctic air so far this season is well under way across the northern tier states. Sub-zero temperatures are now observed over the northern High Plains as a strong and expansive high pressure system from the Arctic settles into the region. The strength of this arctic high, with central pressure forecast to be above 1045 mb, will bring near record high pressure for November across the High Plains. But the more sensible aspect of this arctic intrusion will be the widespread cold temperatures that will likely set record low temperatures across many locations from the Plains eastward to the East Coast and down into the Deep South through Wednesday. In fact, below freezing temperatures are forecast as far south as the central Texas coast by Wednesday morning. This will make it feel like in the middle of winter rather than in November for much of the eastern two-thirds of the country for the next few days. In addition to the arctic cold, snow is expected to fall across a wide area behind the arctic cold front. Much of the areas from the northern Rockies through the northern Plains and upper Midwest continue to see snow falling this Monday morning well behind the arctic front. The snow over the northern and central Rockies is expected to gradually taper off today. But as the main upper-level jet stream moves toward the Great Lakes, a low pressure center is expected to form and intensify along the arctic front over the Ohio Valley tonight. Snow will then pick up in intensity over upstate New York and northern New England tonight as the low pressure center passes just to the south. 6 to 12 inches of snow with locally higher amounts are forecast for northern New York and northern Vermont by Wednesday morning. Farther west, lake-effect snowfall is likely downwind of the Great Lakes where locally more than a foot can be expected. Behind the strong arctic high, an upper-level impulse will bring the next chance of snow and mixed precipitation across the Pacific Northwest into the northern Rockies Tuesday and Tuesday night. The precipitation will likely move into the northern Plains in the form of snow early on Wednesday. Meanwhile, showers are likely with the passage of the arctic front across the South today, with the heaviest rainfall over Arkansas and northern Louisiana where an inch of rain is possible. Some locations over the Mid-Atlantic could see rain changing to snow during the day on Tuesday before the arctic front moves off the coast, ending the precipitation. In contrast, locations west of the Rockies will be spared from the Arctic airmass, with above average temperatures expected from the Desert Southwest to the Pacific Northwest.
