1:30 PM | **Coldest air of the season moves into Mid-Atlantic later this weekend...cold conditions for Penn State’s home playoff game on Saturday...closely monitoring late week snow chances**
Paul Dorian
The first of its kind home playoff game on Saturday afternoon in Penn State’s Beaver Stadium will feature temperatures in the 20’s and a stiff breeze that will make it feel even colder than the actual air temperatures. Plot courtesy NOAA, weathermodels.com
Overview
There have been many football games played in cold weather over the years at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium, but this one coming up on Saturday will be the first of its kind as an official playoff game under the new format by the NCAA. In fact, the coldest air of the season will pour into the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US from this weekend into early next week on the backside of strengthening low pressure over the western Atlantic Ocean. The lowest temperatures in this upcoming cold blast are likely to occur early Monday morning with upper single digits on the table for places like State College, PA, and the lower teens possible in many suburban locations along the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor...pretty impressive readings indeed considering there is no snow cover in the I-95 corridor. Temperatures will turn much milder early next week across the central US and a moderation in temperatures will reach the eastern seaboard by Christmas Day which falls on Wednesday of next week.
As far as snow is concerned, there is the chance for snow shower activity on Friday and Friday night in the Mid-Atlantic region and perhaps even a period of steadier snow. The combination of a “clipper” low pressure system dropping to the south and east from the Great Lakes and developing low pressure over the western Atlantic will bring us the threat of snow. The speed at which these two systems “link up” will dictate how much snow can fall on Friday and Friday…small accumulations are on the table and the situation bears watching during the next few days.
Lowest temperatures of the season so far in the Mid-Atlantic region are likely to take place late Sunday night/early Monday morning with this upcoming Arctic blast firmly in place by then. Map courtesy ECMWF, weathermodels.com
Weekend cold blast
It’ll be relatively mild in the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US for the next couple of days, but a cold frontal passage early Thursday will begin a downward trend in temperatures that will intensify later this weekend. The initial push of colder air will drop temperatures for Thursday and Friday, but a second influx of cold air this weekend will result in some of the lowest temperatures so far this season in the Mid-Atlantic region and Northeast US. Temperatures on Saturday will likely be confined to the middle and upper 20’s for Penn State’s noon playoff game against SMU and a stiff wind will make it feel even colder than the actual air temperature. By the way, there will be two other college football playoff games this weekend that will experience cold conditions as well…one in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday night (Ohio State vs Tennessee) and the other in Indiana on Friday night (Notre Dame vs. Indiana).
Much of the nation will experience above-normal temperatures on average during the 7-day period from 24 December to 31 December. Map courtesy ECMWF, weathermodels.com (Dr. Ryan Maue, X)
The most intense chill in this upcoming Arctic cold blast will likely take place from Saturday night into Monday morning with overnight lows in the single digits across many upstate PA locations such as State College and the lower teens are possible for lows in suburban locations along the I-95 corridor. Temperatures will begin to ease in the eastern states by Tuesday, Christmas Eve, and a noticeable moderation in temperatures takes place by Christmas Day which is on Wednesday of next week. In fact, the 7-day time period from around the middle of next week to the end of December should feature well above-normal conditions on average across much of the nation.
Snow showers are likely in the Mid-Atlantic region from Friday into Saturday and there is still a chance that a “clipper” system “links up” in a quicker fashion with an ocean low that could increase snowfall amounts…still monitoring this possibility. Map courtesy NOAA, tropicaltidbits.com
Snow chances on the rise
In terms of snowfall, a “clipper” low pressure system will drop southeast at week’s end from the Northern Plains to the Great Lakes and, at the same time, low pressure will be forming over the western Atlantic Ocean. At this time, it appears these two systems will struggle to “link up” quick enough for any kind of significant snowfall in the Mid-Atlantic region; however, it is still a close call and, at a minimum, snow shower activity is definitely on the table from Friday into early Saturday. These two systems will need to be monitored over the next few days as chances for a quicker “merge” have been increasing somewhat and this can potentially result in a period of steadier and more significant snowfall to the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday and Friday night. As it stands now, small accumulations are certainly on the table in the late week/early weekend time frame…stay tuned.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield
arcfieldweather.com
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