Light Snow Possible For I-95 Cities

As if the Thanksgiving blast of cold air wasn’t enough, a much colder shot of arctic air is about to dive into the country, smashing daily cold records from the Midwest to the Northeast.

Dozens Of Records Could Fall

We could see several dozen daily record lows across more than a dozen states Thursday and Friday morning. These stretch from the Plains and Midwest to the Northeast. Places like Des Moines, Iowa, and Pittsburgh could break record morning lows.

We are not just talking about temperatures below freezing, but below zero. A pretty significant chunk of the Midwest and Northern Plains will wake up Thursday morning with subzero temperatures. Some lows in parts of Iowa could be in the teens below zero Thursday morning.

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Thursday afternoon won’t offer much warmth either. More than a dozen record cold high temperatures could be felt from Missouri to Ohio, with teens or low 20s as warm as it gets.

Here’s a map where the daily records may fall.

Timing The Arctic Blast

This next round of cold begins arriving in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest Wednesday. Highs across portions of North Dakota and northern Minnesota will only make it to the single digits.

Thursday: Thursday morning, the big freeze will dive down as far south as Oklahoma. Morning lows will plunge below zero for a wide swath of the upper Midwest and Northern Plains. Even Iowa and eastern Nebraska will feel the bitter cold, subzero temperatures.

Meanwhile, places as far south as the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma and the Ohio Valley will bottom out in the 20s.

Afternoon heating won’t help much as temperatures will stay below freezing for millions Thursday afternoon. Temperatures across portions of the Midwest will run 15-25 degrees below average. Even places as far south as Oklahoma City will struggle to make it above freezing.

Friday: Friday morning the cold dips even further south and east. Lows in the single digits and teens will be common across the Great Lakes to New England, including the Boston metro.

Lows near 20 degrees are expected in New York City and Philly, and close to freezing (or even sub-freezing) temperatures are expected in the South from northern Texas to Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.

The Northeast will struggle to make it much above freezing Friday afternoon. While the Midwest and Plains begin to warm up a tad, temperatures will still only be in the 20s for afternoon highs in most of the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi Valley.

Will There Be Any Snow?

I’m glad you asked! This front will be on the drier side, however, there will be a little snow possible for the extreme northern tier of the country ahead of the cold front for parts of the Midwest, Ohio Valley and interior portions of the Northeast. The mid-Atlantic could also see a quick burst of snow and wintry mix on Friday, especially in the higher elevations of the Appalachians.

The first full week of meteorological winter is here, living up to its name.

But Wait, There's More Cold On The Way

A second shot of cold air will begin pushing into the Northern Plains and upper Midwest on Saturday. While this front won't be as cold as the first, it will reinforce those cold temperatures.

By Sunday, parts of the Dakotas and upper Midwest won't make it out of the single digits for high temperatures.

The colder air will dive southward on Monday, dipping temperatures across the Appalachians and I-95 corridor.

Places like Philadelphia, New York and Boston will drop by as much as 10-15 degrees between Sunday and Monday. Their high temperatures for may not make it above freezing Monday or Tuesday afternoon. Breezy conditions along this stretch of I-95 and the coast, will make temperatures feel even colder.

See how cold the temperature will get where you live:

(MAPS: 10-Day US Forecast Highs/Lows)

Meanwhile, The Plains Will Warm

If you are shivering in the Plains this morning, I have some good news for you.

Temperatures are forecast to warm up quite a bit early next week. We aren't talking record warmth, but hopefully a nice change, or break from the cold.

On Monday, Rapid City could see a high of 50 degrees, then warm to near 60 degrees by Tuesday. Denver could also see temperatures close to 60 degrees on Tuesday.

A huge chunk of the west, including much of the Plains will feel temperatures early next week 10-15 degrees above average.

Consider it a brief pause, on the many months left for wintertime cold.

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.