Old Res Weather
Lexington, Massachusetts, USA
35°F
2/16/2025 7:17pm
- Clear
-
35.1°F / 1.7°C
-
32.4°F
- 90%
- Calm, 10-min avg: Calm, gust: None
-
- 10 miles
- 0.01 in
- $VPuv None
National Short Range Forecast Discussion
Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 136 AM EST Thu Nov 27 2025 Valid 12Z Thu Nov 27 2025 - 12Z Sat Nov 29 2025 ...Heavy lake effect snow continues from Michigan to New York through the end of the week... ...Turning much colder for the eastern half of the country... ...Next major winter storm will affect the northern Plains and into the Midwest Friday into Saturday... An abrupt change to reality is underway across the Eastern U.S. in the wake of a strong cold front currently exiting the East Coast. The pleasantly mild weather that was experienced from the Southeast U.S. to New England Wednesday will be replaced by a much colder airmass from Canada in time for Thanksgiving Day and going into the upcoming weekend. In fact, it will feel more like January for many of these same areas with highs running 5 to 15 degrees below late November averages, and even more in some cases. This colder weather pattern will also include heavy snow downwind of the Great Lakes through Friday evening, with some areas getting over a foot of accumulation in the more persistent lake effect bands. This will severely affect travel from now into early Saturday, and some roads could become impassable at times. Lake effect snow warnings are in effect to the east of lakes Erie and Ontario, and blizzard warnings for portions of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where winds will gust over 40 mph at times. Out West, a compact and well organized low pressure system approaches the Washington and Oregon coasts on the afternoon and evening of Thanksgiving Day, and then moves inland across the Intermountain West and Rockies on Friday. The onshore flow ahead of the low will produce widespread rain and mountain snow to the Pacific Northwest, and increasing snowfall coverage for the central and northern Rockies. A couple inches of rain is possible for the windward terrain of Washington and Oregon, and 1-2 feet of snow for the higher elevations of the Cascades and slightly lighter totals for the Idaho and Montana mountains. Improving conditions return to this region by early Saturday. The next major winter storm starts developing across the northern Plains on Friday as a surge of arctic air from Canada meets with the shortwave energy aloft from the aforementioned Pacific storm system. Surface cyclogenesis over the western High Plains Friday night in response to the amplifying upper level trough will increase the influx of moisture northward from the Dakotas to the Midwest states, over-running the arctic airmass at the surface. Widespread moderate to heavy snow is forecast from Montana to the western Great Lakes, and a wintry mix to the south of the snowfall axis from Missouri to Indiana. The potential exists for 6 to 12 inches of snow accumulation for the most impacted areas, and the Weather Prediction has issued Key Messages regarding this next event. Severe travel disruptions are becoming likely for much of the northern Plains and the Midwest late Friday into Saturday. Hamrick Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php