Colder Air and Gusty Winds Pushing in Behind Nor’Easter

Posted: October 23, 2023 8:31 am

While it was a largely miserable weekend across the Northeast, conditions are forecast to improve with the start of the new week. Here is what you can expect with this topsy-turvy weather pattern.

Nor’Easter Slams East Coast to Start the Weekend

The weekend started with a blustery vibe as a nor’easter ushered in cold winds and rain for a large area of the East Coast stretching from the mid-Atlantic and up into New England. A rush of cold air will come in behind this storm, bringing the temperatures down to readings usually seen deep into November. However, a quick warmup later in the week will give residents some relief.

A cold front moving in from the central Appalachians will merge with a disturbance that developed over the coastline of the Northeast on Saturday, creating a major weather event with New England as the primary impact zone. The storm got going in earnest on Saturday as it grew in intensity and size. The feature moved to the north throughout the day and delivered widespread rain and high winds through Saturday night.

Motorists and air travelers experienced delays throughout New England on Saturday. Fallen leaves blocking storm drains and causing flooding was an issue for cities such as Boston.

The silver lining was that the storm moved at a fast clip on Saturday, translating to lesser amounts of rain in the mid-Atlantic and southern portions of New England by Sunday morning. Major metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C. and New York City saw conditions improve on Saturday as the weather maker chugged along to the north.

Cold Winds Whip Up on Sunday

A mass of cold air moved in behind the storm on Sunday as the worst of the conditions pushed into Atlantic Canada. Accompanying this chilly air was gusty winds. The air was cold enough to turn some of the lingering rain showers into a heavy and wet snowfall across the Adirondacks in upstate New York. This wet snow was also a possibility for the higher terrains of Vermont’s Green Mountains, the Berkshires in southwestern New England, and the Catskills of southeastern New York.

The windy conditions also impacted the Northeast, the mid-Atlantic, the eastern Great Lakes, and the Appalachians. This made for a windy end to the weekend for a large portion of the eastern U.S. Winds out of the northwest came in at 30 to 40 mph with some higher gusts in some areas. These winds were enough to rob the trees of all of their beautiful fall leaves.

The high winds also brought real feel readings down into the 20s and 30s across the Appalachians and into the 40s along the populated Interstate 95 corridor early Sunday.

The quickly moving storm will usher out the winds as swiftly as they arrived, bringing calmer conditions to the region late Sunday and into Monday. However, the coldest temperatures are still on the horizon for this time period.

Frost or Freeze Potential for Eastern U.S.

The risk of a freeze or a frost was in place for the Ohio Valley, the eastern Great Lakes, and the Appalachians on Sunday night with this threat hitting the Northeast by Monday. Be sure to cover all sensitive plants and vegetables if you are worried about them surviving what is likely to be the coldest temperatures of the season.

There is also the chance that exposed water in pipes and hoses could experience a freeze. The interior Northeast will see the chill hang on through Tuesday morning with lows that could dip as low as the 20s.

The mercury will begin an upward trajectory by the middle of the week, reaching as high as 10 degrees above normal in some areas. For instance, highs may reach the low 70s by the end of the week throughout the Northeast and beyond.

Dry weather will also be the story for much of the eastern U.S. for next week. These dry conditions may even hang on through the weekend, bringing an end to the streak of seven straight weekends of rain for many cities in the Northeast.

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