Flakes will fly in New England away from the coast, leading to moderate accumulations in the mountains of western Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Another round of frigid air is heading to the Midwest and East Coast this week, triggering more snow, dangerous travel conditions and icy wind chills across 30 states from North Dakota to Georgia. It may even leave residents wondering: Is this a sign of what’s to come the rest of winter?
The short answer is, probably not. This winter was forecast to be marked by La Niña – a global climate pattern in which cool waters well up to the surface from deep in the eastern Pacific Ocean. While the pattern has yet to officially emerge, its influence typically means the season won’t experience wall-to-wall snowy and cold winters in the East.
But it won’t make the incoming surge of cold air feel any less cold. In addition to biting cold, widespread light-to-moderate snow is expected across the Midwest and Northeast, creating localized whiteout conditions.
The latest polar plunge will also kick-start the lake-effect snow machine once again, though accumulations won’t be as prolific as they were during the most recent event.
The longer answer on whether the cold is here to stay involves a meteorological concept known as persistence, which is influenced by the memory of the ocean.
It refers to the tendency for weather patterns to become stuck on repeat for weeks or months, like the fall drought across th
