Thanksgiving outlook: Brutal cold, snow to blast Midwest as a storm may eye the East

While warmth builds in the Southwest, re-surging cold air may trigger frequent snow in the Great Lakes and help spin up a storm along the East Coast around Thanksgiving Day.

Following a storm and shot of cold air that sweeps across the northern part of the nation into this weekend, there is the potential for very cold air to take root over the Midwest during the long Thanksgiving weekend.

"If early indications are correct, some locations may be buried under feet of lake-effect snow, while gusty winds sweep cold air from the northern Plains to the Gulf Coast, Appalachians and eventually the Atlantic Seaboard," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson.

It is during that press of arctic air, when another storm may come about with a swath of steady rain, ice and snow in the Northeast.

At the jet stream level, a piece of the polar vortex may break loose and settle near the Great Lakes. The jet stream is a high speed river of air at the level where jets cruise at.

The polar vortex is a storm around the same level of the atmosphere as the jet stream. Usually this storm hangs out near the Arctic Circle and keeps frigid air contained. However, when this storm weakens or shifts position, cold air may be discharged to mid-latitudes anywhere around the globe.

"The cold outbreak with lake-effect snow from the Midwest to the central Appalachians may last a couple of days or perhaps right through the Thanksgiving weekend," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffey.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/thanksgiving-outlook-brutal-cold-snow-to-blast-midwest-as-a-storm-may-eye-the-east/70003263