Freezing Temperatures—And Even Snow—Grip Eastern U.S. In Historic October Cold Snap

Topline

Temperatures across a large swath of the eastern U.S. stretching all the way to the Gulf Coast are expected to plunge below freezing Tuesday night, in an unusual early cold snap that will likely set dozens of new record lows, a turnaround after a summer of intense heat waves.

Key Facts

Kansas City, Missouri (25 degrees), Des Moines, Iowa (21 degrees), and Omaha, Nebraska (16 degrees), all broke single-day record lows that had stood for 50 years Tuesday morning, with the core of the cold air expected to push southward Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

The entire states of Arkansas and Tennessee are under freeze warnings, which extend southward to the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, Alabama and along the western Florida Panhandle.

Record lows are forecast Tuesday night for cities like Mobile, Alabama, Gulfport, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which could break a record for earliest freeze that has stood since 1898.

Rare mid-October snow has also fallen in the upper Midwest, including in Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin—which on Monday reported its earliest measurable snowfall in 32 years, while parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula have received over a foot of lake-effect snow, with more expected Tuesday night.

Snow is also possible Tuesday night across Ohio, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and upstate New York.

Pittsburgh could tie its record for earliest-ever measurable snowfall Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Crucial Quote

More than 68 million. That’s how many Americans have been under freeze watches and warnings so far this week.

Key Background

The cold blast is the result of a dip in the jet stream over the eastern U.S., paving the way for cold fronts to funnel cold Canadian air masses southward. The strong cold fronts that pushed through much of the eastern U.S. this week marked an abrupt change from a summer that brought record-breaking heat. More than 350 record highs were set across the country this summer, according to CNN, in a season that was the third-hottest on record in the United States.

What To Watch For

The cold weather isn’t expected to stick around. Temperatures across the eastern U.S. are expected to flip back to above-average by the end of the week and remain that way for at least a week, according to the Climate Prediction Center.

Contra

The western U.S. is baking under a heat wave. Seattle hit 88 degrees Sunday—the latest in the year such heat has ever been recorded there. It obliterated the city’s old October 16 record high by 16 degrees, set in 2018.

Further Reading

Yes, Another Heat Wave: Almost 50 Million Under Heat Alerts Across U.S. (Forbes)

More than 300 all-time heat records were broken in the US this summer. See where it was the hottest. (CNN)

Historic October heat shatters records in the Pacific Northwest (Washington Post)