Arctic Air Brings First Snowflakes to Philly, NYC

By Anthony Sagliani, Meteorologist

November 12, 2013; 7:10 AM

Video at the Page Link:

For a detailed look at the wintry weather in the Northeast, click above for a video forecast.

With the start of astronomical winter still a little over a month away, it will feel a lot more like December than November across a large part of the Northeast into midweek.

A bitter cold air mass that has been building across Canada has become dislodged from the Arctic, and the bulk of this air is sweeping across the northeastern United States.

The coldest temperatures will be on Tuesday and Wednesday as the winterlike chill spills into the Northeast behind an arctic cold front.

High temperatures from Washington, D.C., northward to Philadelphia, New York City and Boston will fail to get out of the 40s, and areas farther inland will not even make it out of the 30s. On Tuesday night, the first below-freezing temperatures are likely from Washington, D.C., to New York City.

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In addition to the cold temperatures, I-95 cities from Boston and New York City to Philadelphia saw the first snowflakes of the season on Tuesday. Some snow even mixed in as far south as Baltimore, while snow also reached the coast. A trace of snow fell in Atlantic City, N.J.

Gusty northwest winds will accompany this cold air mass and make it feel even colder, especially on Tuesday. AccuWeather RealFeel® temperatures will not get above 30 degrees from the Appalachians to northern New England.



To put this air mass into perspective, consider the normal high temperature for New York City on Tuesday is 55 degrees F. AccuWeather is forecasting an afternoon high in the low 40s, similar to the average for Dec. 21 (the first day of winter).

Similarly in Philadelphia, the average high temperature on Tuesday is 58 degrees F. AccuWeather is forecasting an afternoon high of only 42 degrees F, which is the average high temperature on Dec. 24.

This winter chill will not be sticking around for very long, as temperatures will warm back toward more seasonable levels for the start of the weekend.


http://www.accuweather.com/en/weathe...es-of/19819485