Northeastern US taking another early hit from winter into Monday night

Residents across the Northeast may feel like the calendar has flipped to December as opposed to November as cold winds and a healthy dose of snow for some sweep through the region early this week.

A potent cold front swept through the region on Sunday, generating areas of rain as well as gusty showers containing graupel, or soft hail.

Lake-effect snow showers began in earnest as cold air behind the front swept over the mild waters of the Great Lakes.

This radar image shows numerous lake-effect snow showers streaming off of lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario on Sunday night, Nov. 1, 2020. (AccuWeather)

"In the wake of the front, it has turned colder and quite windy," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll said.

Lake-effect snow showers are forecast to persist into Monday night, and there could be some heavier snow bands, known as snow squalls. These squalls can cause sudden reductions in visibility and a quick, slippery covering of snow on the roadways, including on stretches of interstates 75, 81 and 90.

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Motorists in the traditional lake-effect snowbelts may want to use this early season event as a reminder to make sure their vehicles are equipped for winter weather driving with an emergency kit in stow ahead of the more frequent bouts of lake-effect snow to come heading into the winter.

Three to 6 inches of snowfall with locally higher amounts can occur inland from the lakeshores and across upstate New York before the lake-effect snow showers wind down Monday night.

A period of steady, accumulating snowfall is also in store from Monday night to early Tuesday across northeastern New York state to northern New England as cold air wraps around a secondary storm forms along the coast. A bit of snow may also fall along the eastern coast of New England as well.

"Temperatures can be 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit below normal in the Northeast and northern mid-Atlantic on Monday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist David Samuhel said.

This will put highs in the 30s and 40s for most of the region, with lower 50s in the southern mid-Atlantic.

Factoring in gusty winds that are forecast to usher in the cold air, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures can be 10-15 degrees lower than the actual temperature, even where there is some sunshine.

"Frequent wind gusts of 45-55 mph are expected into Monday evening before decreasing Monday night," Doll said.

"Strong winds can bring down tree branches and cause power outages. The power outages could be problematic for some communities if power is not restored by Tuesday morning when the polling locations open," Doll added.

Where steady rain fell late this past week across the mid-Atlantic and New England, there may be a heightened risk of downed trees due to the saturated soil.

A weak storm diving out of Canada will bring yet another dose of snow to portions of New York state and New England late Monday and into at least the morning hours of Election Day, with the potential for a few inches of new snowfall accumulation.

This storm will quickly be whisked out to sea and replaced by a high pressure system moving in from the west later Tuesday.

"This will be the start of a dry and warming pattern that is expected to persist through at least Saturday, perhaps beyond," Doll said.

So even though the region is in for a cold shock, it will only be brief, and residents will be able to turn off heaters and maybe even swing open the windows in just a few days.

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