Additional Cold Blasts Into This Weekend May Be Followed by Some Thanksgiving Relief

Cold air more reminiscent of January than November has taken hold of the central and eastern United States, including much of the Deep South, but the cold may relent for some by Thanksgiving.

This latest round of cold temperatures saw daily record lows record cold highs on Wednesday from Texas into the Mississippi Valley, as well as in Ohio, New York and Vermont. New record cold high temperatures were set Wednesday when Memphis only reached 30 degrees and Jackson, Mississippi saw a high of just 36 degrees.

On Tuesday morning, Minneapolis/St. Paul dipped into the single digits for the first time in November in four years. Daily record lows and record cold high temperatures were set on Tuesday in parts of the Upper Midwest, southern Plains, lower Mississippi Valley.

The chilly blast late last week and into this past weekend brought daily record-cold temperatures to parts of the Plains. Dallas saw its earliest freeze since 1993 Saturday morning and Kansas City saw the temperature drop into the single digits.

Temperatures dipped into the 20s and lower 30s Sunday morning for much of the East, including Philadelphia and Washington D.C., where temperatures dipped to freezing or below for the first time this season.

Areas as far south as northern Mississippi, northern Alabama, northern Georgia and parts of the Carolinas also saw temperatures drop below freezing early Sunday. It was the first freeze of the season for Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Short-Term Cold-cast

A blast of cold air is now rushing into the eastern and southern U.S. with Winter Storm Avery, which is also bringing rain, snow and wind to the southern Great Lakes and East.

Thursday, the Northeast can expect highs only in the 30s while upper 30s and 40s are expected for the mid-Atlantic.

In the South, high temperatures will only be in the 40s Thursday except for along the Gulf Coast where 50s will be common. Florida's peninsula will remain warm in the 70s and 80s.

Low temperatures will also be 10 to 20 degrees colder than average through Friday morning from the northern and western Gulf Coast to the central Plains and into parts of the East.

Lows in the 20s and 30s are expected from the northern and central Plains into the Northeast and Southeast.

A few daily record-cold high temperatures and record lows will remain possible.

Pattern Change Ahead?

There may be some relief ahead from this bitter November cold.

Temperatures will moderate a tad for much of the northern Rockies, Plains and upper Midwest late this week. Then, yet another burst of cold air will arrive here to kick off the weekend.

Highs will be in the teens, 20s and 30s from the Dakotas to New England this weekend, but in contrast to this late week chill associated with Avery, the South will actually rebound into the 60s and 70s both Saturday and Sunday with only a slight drop in temperatures anticipated to start the week. 

Some computer models indicate that an upper-level weather pattern change may begin during Thanksgiving week.

(MAPS: 10-Day Forecast)

Currently, a southward dip in the jet stream has been positioned over the central and eastern U.S., allowing arctic cold from Canada to surge southward.

Later this month, there are signs that a more west-to-easterly flow of the jet stream will develop across the Lower 48 states, at least for a brief period of time.

This would allow warmer temperatures to return to the Plains, South and perhaps parts of the Midwest.

The West Coast and Gulf Coast have the highest odds for above-average temperatures from Nov. 22-28, according to an 8- to 14-day outlook from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

The colder-than-average air may hold on the longest in the Northeast, particularly if a blocking high pressure aloft near Greenland forces cold air back into the East.

This potential pattern change is a week away, and the details remain uncertain, so be sure to check back to weather.com for updates.