A blast of snow and cold is heading to the Eastern U.S. after a mild start to fall
The storm will affect the region later this week, with windy weather continuing during the pre-Thanksgiving weekend.


People walk through the falling snow in Central Park in New York City on Feb. 13. Parts of the Northeast may see the first snow of the season. (Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images)

By Ben Noll
November 19, 2024 at 9:59 a.m. EST

The weather hasn’t really felt like November in the Northeast and Great Lakes, where temperatures have commonly been 5 to 10 degrees above average for this time of year. Nationwide, it’s been the fifth-slowest start to the snow season since at least 2008. ... But that’s about to change.

A buckle in the jet stream will give rise to a multifaceted storm system in much of the eastern half of the United States, bringing wet snow, much-needed moisture, blustery conditions and some of the coolest conditions since April.

Beginning Thursday into the weekend, conditions will contrast sharply with the tranquility that fall 2024 has been known for, with the potential for wet snow across more than a dozen states — from Wisconsin to New Hampshire, and as far south as the mountains of western North Carolina.

The wintry outlook comes as the first outbreak of Arctic air reaches the eastern states later this week.

{snip}

By Ben Noll
Ben Noll is a meteorologist with a passion for communicating extreme weather and climate trends. He has experience working with data and creating weather graphics on a supercomputer, developing meteorological services in the Pacific Islands, and short, medium, and long-range weather prediction.follow on X @BenNollWeather