Cold On The Way For Many

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With Thanksgiving behind us, there are four things we're watching in the nation's weather this week as November draws to a close and December arrives.

1​. Quiet and chilly start: If the map below looks rather blank, that's because once a frontal system clears New England on Monday, the nation's weather gets very quiet for a day or two. Only lake-effect snow, heavy in spots, is in the forecast Tuesday.

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I​t will be quite chilly over much of the country early in the week, especially in the East and in the morning. For more temperature details, check out our daily forecast highs and lows maps.

(192 hours: Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience)

2​. South turns wet again later: After a drier start, we expect rain and some thunderstorms to return to the Southern Plains beginning Thursday. That rain could spread through parts of the South and Ohio Valley Friday into Saturday.

I​f that wasn't enough, computer models also suggest another round of soaking rain could push into some of these same areas next weekend.

T​hat's good news for the ongoing drought, but locally heavy rain could lead to flash flooding in some spots.

3. Cold gradually eases: As we mentioned earlier, the week will start out cold, and be rather stubborn for several days.

But as the week goes on, the colder than average air will gradually relent in the Northern Plains, then in the South.

A​nd by the first full week of December, much of the Lower 48 could be at least somewhat milder than usual, with the exception of parts of the Southwest.

4. West Coast rain and mountain snow returns: There are multiple chances of rain and mountain snow in the West this week.

The first arrives around mid-week and looks to primarily affect Northern California with mainly light precipitation. A couple of other disturbances could spread rain and mountain snow across parts of California, Oregon and Washington late this week.

(​MORE: What This El Niño Could Mean For California This Winter And Spring)

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