Rush of arctic air to invade the US during the first weeks of 2025

On January 2, 2025By Littum

The FOX Forecast Center is tracking a significant arctic outbreak that will send temperatures plummeting across the eastern half of the nation next week. By far the coldest air of the season so far, this blast of cold temperatures will be widespread, stretching all the way through the Deep South and into Florida and southern Texas.

Winter’s grip will return to half of the United States this week as a rush of arctic air descends, dropping temperatures from well above average to nearly 30 degrees below average for some.

Two areas of high pressure are responsible for this pattern change, driving the bitter cold south from Canada and into the eastern half of the United States. This setup will lower temperatures almost everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains and increase the chances of snow in the Northeast and Great Lakes.

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Rounds of arctic air to invade the US for prolonged cold.

(FOX Weather)

“We’re talking about a big, big cooldown, to say the least, especially for places up and down the East Coast as we really get into the first few weeks of January,” said FOX Weather Meteorologist Kendall Smith.

The arctic outbreak begins on Wednesday. The main push of dangerously cold air appears to be moving in during the Jan. 6-14 time frame, the FOX Forecast Center said.

The biggest changes will be in the northern plains and eastern US, where midweek high temperatures will be between 20-30 degrees below what they were on Monday.

After the first round of cold, two more rounds of arctic air will dive in from Canada, setting up parts of the US for a prolonged arctic burst of freezing temperatures.

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The cold will take hold in the Deep South next week, and temperatures will drop across Texas and the Gulf Coast states with lows in the upper 20s.

North Florida could see temperatures around freezing with overnight lows for Jacksonville and Tallahassee hovering around 30 degrees.

For the north, this change in weather patterns brings the first ingredient needed for snow. Any low pressure system that develops and taps into this cold air is likely to produce snow.

“The next piece of this complicated puzzle is how stormy it is. Do we have a pattern that allows for more storms, possibly winter storms, to set up to the east, and that includes the Mississippi River Valley? And the answer is, yes , It looks like we might get a storm,” said FOX Weather Meteorologist Stephen Morgan.

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The National Weather Service in Buffalo is tracking another prolonged lake-effect snow event starting Wednesday, possibly through this weekend.

Western and northern New York could see anywhere from 3 inches to 3 feet of snow through Sunday.

Temperature forecast for the second week of January.

(FOX Weather)