Arctic Cold in the Forecast for Next Week

If you think it was cold over the Thanksgiving holiday, wait until you see what Mother Nature has in store for next week. Forecasters are warning that some of the coldest weather on the planet will be in the U.S. in the days ahead. Here is a look at how cold it will get as the calendar flips from November to December.

Behavior of Polar Vortex to Drive Temperatures Across the U.S in Weeks Ahead

December is setting up to get off to a frigid start for a large swath of the U.S. The National Weather Service (NWS) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is warning that colder-than-usual temperatures are on tap for the northern and northeastern U.S. by next week. The chill expected next week will deepen by the third week of December, according to the long-range forecasting models.

While meteorologists are reasonably certain that much of December will see temperatures that are chillier than the norm, it is more difficult to determine what the snowfall picture will look like. This is because the elements of the weather systems that produce snow are challenging to pinpoint more than a few days in advance. However, forecasters know that the simple presence of colder air will raise the risk of a major snow event. In order for wintry precipitation to form, you need both cold temperatures and the presence of moisture.