Arctic plunge Sunday, potential storm near Thanksgiving?
Good afternoon! After a period of moderation in temperatures over the next couple of days and perhaps a few scattered showers on Friday and Saturday, an Arctic cold front will be crossing the area sometime on Saturday. This will lead to plunging temperatures on Saturday night and Sunday.

Today’s 12z European Model valid for Sunday afternoon shows 850mb temperatures in between -15C and -18C. This supports temperatures not getting above freezing. Image credit goes to weatherbell.com
850mb temperatures are expected to drop to between -15C and -18C. With full sunshine, you can normally add around 15C to that temperature to get what is expected at the surface; thus supporting highs in the upper 20s to low 30s on Sunday, as seen in the image below.

Today’s 12z European Model shows maximum temperatures not getting above freezing for most locations on Sunday afternoon. Image credit goes to weatherbell.com.

Today’s 12z European Model valid for Sunday morning shows 1000-500mb thicknesses approaching 504dam. Image credit goes to weatherbell.com.
Additionally, the 1000-500mb thicknesses will be quite low as well. This supports the theme of a very cold pocket of air aloft. This cold pocket of air aloft will yield an unstable atmosphere, capable of producing very strong winds. It is possible that winds could gust between 30-50 miles per hour on Sunday, leading to wind chills potentially staying in the teens throughout portions of the day. It’ll truly feel like winter. Sunday night will be cold, with widespread lows in the upper teens and lower 20s.


Much colder air filtered into the area late on Monday evening and continued to do so into early Tuesday morning. The change comes on the heels of a major cold front, which pushed through the early on Monday. Temperatures fell into the 30’s overnight — and the temperature drop at the 850mb level was equally as impressive, falling to near – 10 C in northern parts of the area on Tuesday morning. Highs on Tuesday will only scrape into the 40’s, with blustery winds especially early. The combination of the two will make it feel pretty cold, especially after Monday which featured highs in the middle 60’s with a very warm sun.
