As an arctic blast hits the Northeastern U.S. this weekend, a clipper system moving across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast early next week is bringing a chance of snow — and rain — for Christmas Eve.
It doesn’t have the look of a major snowstorm by any means, but there may be a few inches of fresh snow on the ground from Wisconsin to Maine by Christmas Eve.
For the major metropolitan areas along the Interstate 95 corridor in the Northeast, from New York to Boston, the chance of measurable snow is low but not zero.
However, parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and upstate New York could see more.
“Christmas Day will feature green and brown grass for much of the U.S. – not exactly what Bing Crosby crooned about!” the National Weather Service posted on social platform X. “But in northern areas and western elevations, snow already on the ground (or expected to fall) is promising a quintessential white Christmas.”
In the meantime, an arctic plunge is moving into the Northeast this weekend, as temperatures fall into the teens and single digits Saturday night into Sunday.
Wind chills could be below zero for inland areas and in the single digits even for coastal major cities.
It’s the coldest air so far this season in the East and Northeast, and it follows icy and snowy conditions that have resulted in flight cancellations and delays.
Overnight into Saturday, Fenway Park near Boston recorded at least 6 inches of snow while parts of western New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania recorded 1 to 4 inches of snow.
New York City’s Central Park picked up 1.8 inches of snow early Saturday, marking the first measurable snowfall of the season.
Temperatures behind this snow system plunged. In the last 24 hours, temperatures fell 15 to 25 degrees in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and 5 to 15 degrees throughout much of the Midwest. This quick cool-down will travel east for Sunday.
That arctic air is traveling over ice-free Great Lake waters and producing lake-effect snow, on Saturday only, for places like Syracuse, New York, where 3 to 5 inches of snow may accumulate.
Morning wind chills were set to drop to the single digits or below zero for much of the Northeast on Sunday and Monday mornings. Boston will be feeling below zero.
High temperatures will only reach the 20s in New York City on Sunday — which hasn’t happened since mid-January 2024.
“Feels like” temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s as far south as the Florida Panhandle.
As of 6:45 a.m. on Saturday, 130 flights have been cancelled and 830 flights have been delayed nationwide.
JetBlue Airlines leads in cancellations with 46 flights, or 4% of its scheduled flights, cancelled. Ground stops and delays are expected to last at airports throughout the day.
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport issued a ground stop on Friday, pausing departures amid snowy and icy conditions as airports around the country grappled with inclement weather.
The stop came as the clipper system that brought heavy snow and airport delays to the Upper Midwest on Thursday is moving on Friday morning through the Illinois city.
As of 11:30 p.m. ET on Friday, 9,376 flights were delayed nationwide. The day ended with 523 cancellations.
Southwest Airlines led the cancellations with 113 flights, or 2% of its scheduled flights. Ground stops and delays are expected to continue at airports in impacted areas throughout the night.
The most impacted airports were San Diego International with 157 cancellations and Boston Logan International with 154 cancellations.
