Blast of Cold Air Taking Aim at Millions Thanksgiving Week

It will feel more like Christmas than Thanksgiving as a mass of frigid temperatures starts to expand into the eastern U.S. this week. The plunge in the mercury will come just ahead of the start of the meteorological winter on Monday, December 1. Read on for a closer look at how cold it will get and when you will need to drag out their winter coats once again.

Winterlike Temperatures Set to Invade Much of the U.S.

Participants in turkey trot races and Thanksgiving Day parades are going to be left shivering as a blast of cold air spreads across the Midwest and northern tier of the U.S. on Wednesday. The unseasonably cold weather is forecast to hit the eastern edge of the country just as shoppers head out for deals on Black Friday. This surge of cold air will serve as a harbinger of things to come next week, when even colder air is expected to dive down from Canada to signal the official start of winter.

A weakening polar vortex is set to pair with the latest reincarnation of the La Niña climate pattern to usher in winterlike temperatures for most of the nation within the next week. The early arrival of the winter weather is coming on the heels of a record-breaking influx of Arctic air to start the month of November.