First snow of the season in parts of the Midwest, Northeast

The first snow of the season sweeps across parts of the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast to end the week as a change to a November reality check sweeps cold air as far south as Texas and Florida.

Snow setup: A potent low pressure system has developed over the Great Lakes region. This storm could sit and spin through Friday or Saturday with strong winds, raw, cold air, rain and wet snow.

You can see where that storm is producing snowfall and rain right now in the radar snapshot below. Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and Indianapolis are some of the cities that saw the first snow of the season Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

The National Weather Service has issued various winter weather warnings for snow from the Great Lakes to the Appalachians and the interior Northeast.

Generally, any snow that falls in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley will do so through Thursday night. Any that fall in the east will do so from later Thursday through Friday night or Saturday.

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How much snow: We do not expect widespread heavy accumulations. However, the higher elevations of the Appalachians from West Virginia to southwestern Pennsylvania, as well as the Poconos, Catskills and Adirondacks, could pick up 6 inches or more of heavy, wet snow.

The weight of this snow plus strong winds could lead to some tree damage and power outages in these areas.

Otherwise, some sloppy amounts of a few inches are possible from the Great Lakes into the Ohio Valley and lower elevations of the interior Northeast. Most of these accumulations will be on grassy areas and vehicle tops, unless the snow comes in a quick flurry or flurry, which could cover some bridges and untreated roads.

Colder, finally: It hasn’t felt like winter is around the corner in the south lately. Instead, the region saw its own warmest first two weeks of any November on record for dozens of cities from Texas to Florida to the southern Appalachians, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center.

And this is where the upcoming reality check will be felt the most.

This colder air should quickly spill over the rest of the South, lower Midwest and East on Thursday. It will likely hang in the Southeast through the weekend.

We have some examples of low temperature forecast on the map below. Lows in the 30s and 40s will be common in the south, possibly in parts of northern Florida. The Florida peninsula may have some cool mornings in the 40s and 50s. Meanwhile, highs in the 40s and a few 30s will be the rule in the Midwest and interior Northeast through the end of the week.

(SHORT: 10-day forecast for highs and lows in the United States)

Why is this pattern changing: The short answer is that the wind flow in the atmosphere is temporarily blocked.

A high-pressure bubble, known as the Greenland Block, is acting as a temporary roadblock, forcing a deep low-pressure system to settle over the east.

That’s why this storm system and cold air could last several days in the east.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has covered national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him X (formerly Twitter), Thread, Facebook and Blue sky.