Record-setting snow and frosty scenes looked more reminiscent of mid-winter — and AccuWeather forecasters are already eyeing up the next storm system for potential trouble.
Published Nov. 3, 2021 1:50 PM EDT | Updated Nov. 3, 2021 8:23 PM EDT
A pattern change ushered in wintry scenes around parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast just in time for the first week of November. Temperatures tumbled and caused the first frost and freeze of the season in parts of the interior Northeast, and it looked more like the depths of winter for some areas around the Great Lakes, where hefty lake-effect snow piled up.
Amounts topped 11 inches in northern parts of Lower Michigan. Gaylord, Michigan, picked up 11.7 inches of snow Tuesday, which set a record for the heaviest snowfall in a calendar day in November. That amount also ranked as the sixth highest single-day snowfall in any month. Records have been kept at that National Weather Service site since 1998 — and a tweet the office shared showed a quintessential “winter wonderland.”
Many felt the breath of winter Tuesday night into Wednesday morning with frosty scenes on their lawns as temperatures dipped down into the low 20s to mid-30s as far south as northern Tennessee, weeks later than average in some areas.
Giant snowflakes fell in front of the NWS office in Gaylord, Michigan, on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, providing a "winter wonderland" scene. (Twitter / NWS)
"The coldest air of the season is settling over the Northeast to end the week, and as chilly as it was Wednesday morning, temperatures will be even colder along the I-95 corridor Thursday morning," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dean Devore said.
Temperatures plummeted to the 30s in cities such as Pittsburgh Wednesday morning. Afternoon high temperatures in the Steel City through Friday may only reach the middle to upper 40s, and the overnight low temperatures will tumble into the upper 20s.
While temperatures continue to drop in the Northeast, the threat for snow will persist around the Great Lakes, mainly across higher elevations. A general coating to perhaps an inch or two of slushy snow can accumulate on non-paved surfaces through Wednesday. However, a few places, where snow is more persistent, could receive several inches of accumulation.
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The major roads in the region are expected to be mainly wet in the snow areas, but some slushy and slippery conditions cannot be ruled out over the ridges and on secondary roads where there is little direct sunlight during the day.
As high pressure continues to build across the Northeast Thursday and Friday, the threat will wane for any additional snow or rain showers around the Great Lakes.
Temperatures are expected to rebound Saturday across the Northeast as high pressure moves offshore, allowing for a southerly wind to usher in milder air. Cities such as Washington, D.C., and Baltimore will see temperatures rise from the low 50s from Wednesday through Friday to near 60 by the weekend. Normal highs for early November are right around 62 F in both cities.
Dry conditions will persist into the weekend in the Northeast, but AccuWeather meteorologists are keeping a close eye on the next weather system that could strike the area late this weekend into early next week.
"The storm is expected to organize over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Friday where the counterclockwise circulation around the storm will draw very moist air northward through Florida causing periods of heavy rainfall, especially from central Florida to northeast Florida Friday through Friday night," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson explained.
The storm has the potential to track northward and unleash impacts up and down the Eastern Seaboard this weekend. A track closer to the coastline would result in rainy and windy weather Thursday into this weekend from Florida to the Outer Banks and stormy conditions farther north this weekend into early next week.
It's possible the storm could strengthen rapidly enough to become a bomb cyclone. Meteorologists define a bomb cyclone as a storm that undergoes a central pressure drop of 0.71 of an inch of mercury (1 millibar) within 24 hours. The Northeast is no stranger to this type of intense storm as a late-October nor'easter met the criteria and blasted New England with humungous waves and torrential rainfall.
Whether the storm tracks close to the East Coast or moves out to sea, there will be gusty, onshore winds, rough surf, minor coastal flooding, and beach erosion threats for many communities from Jacksonville, Florida, to Portland, Maine, this weekend into early next week before the storm goes on to pound Nova Scotia early next week.
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