Winter’s done playing around: Cold is coming

Snow is unlikely, but there will be shivers aplenty

Shivering season is here.

The mild weather of the past few weeks will soon be a distant memory as the coldest air of the season invades most of the central and eastern USA.

Frigid temperatures, but little snow, will hit from the Midwest to the Southeast. Even parts of Florida will see nighttime temperatures dip into the 30s.

Unlike previous cold snaps this fall, this one looks to stay around for a while, possibly until the first day of winter on Dec. 21, AccuWeather meteorologist Max Vido said.

For most areas, snow will not accompany the cold. The heaviest snow will be confined primarily to the northern Plains and around the Great Lakes over the next few days.

In the short term, blizzard warnings were posted for parts of the eastern Dakotas and northwest Minnesota, the National Weather Service said.

The heavy snow will expand into parts of the Upper Great Lakes overnight Monday and early Tuesday.

After this storm moves away, the snow focus will shift to the lake-effect variety, which will hit the typical snow belt areas of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York state with significant snowfall.

“Places that will pick up the heaviest snow are the Tug Hill Plateau downwind of Lake Ontario, the south towns of Buffalo and northern Michigan,” AccuWeather meteorologist Steve Travis said. Some places could see more than 2 feet of snow, the weather service said.

While central and eastern parts of the USA shiver, folks in Southern California and the Southwest will endure hot, dry Santa Ana winds this week.