Following a brief respite, harsh Arctic air will spread across much of the north-central United States on Wednesday, while the East Coast is battered by heavy rain and thunderstorms from a strong storm system.

The frigid Arctic air will sweep through the Midwest, bringing subzero wind chill temperatures and strong northwesterly winds, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

“Although this Arctic outbreak isn’t expected to set any records, temperatures on Wednesday across the Northern Plains and into the Upper Mississippi Valley will be significantly below average,” stated the National Weather Service in an online forecast. “These unseasonably low temperatures will push into the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley on Thursday.”

On the bright side, this surge of Arctic air is predicted to be short-lived: AccuWeather anticipates the cold snap will ease by the weekend, with temperatures possibly rising above normal early next week.

Arctic chill approaching

A cold front will shift across the East Coast from Wednesday into Thursday, bringing in colder air from the north and northwest afterward. This Arctic chill will spread eastward through the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast over the next couple of days, as reported by the weather service.

“High temperatures over the next few days could be 10 to as much as 30 degrees below normal,” stated National Weather Service forecaster Mark Miller in an online forecast. “The cold air mass following the front will also transition rain to snow across the western slopes of the Appalachians and into parts of New England and the Northeast, with moderate accumulations likely,” he added.

Major storm on the East Coast

On Wednesday, rain and thunderstorms will rapidly spread along the East Coast, leading to widespread heavy rain from the central to eastern Gulf Coast, affecting the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and New England, according to weather service forecasts.

“Travelers planning journeys, whether by ground or air, should expect significant delays from Wednesday through early Thursday as a storm system rapidly moves from the Gulf of Mexico to Quebec, Canada,” Sosnowski advised.

As many regions currently face moderate to severe drought, the incoming rainfall will be advantageous. However, due to the potential for heavy downpours over a short span, localized flash flooding may occur, particularly in urban areas, as warned by the weather service.

Intense lake-effect snow expected

A new round of significant lake-effect snow is anticipated downwind of the Great Lakes from Wednesday through Thursday. The frigid Arctic air will move over the relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, generating intense snow bands, starting on Wednesday downwind of Lakes Superior and Michigan, then affecting Lakes Erie and Ontario Wednesday night into early Thursday, according to Miller.

By the time snowfall begins to decrease on Friday, areas in the favored Snow Belt across parts of northwest and western New York, far northwest Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and western Lower Peninsula are expected to accumulate 1 to 2 feet of snow, as reported by the weather service.