Millions of Americans Face Coldest Air of Season as Frost and Freeze Warnings Issued
National Weather Service alerts cover parts of nine states from late Tuesday into Wednesday morning.
Millions of Americans are being advised to prepare for the first widespread frost and freeze of the season as cold air from Canada sweeps into the northeastern United States. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued frost advisories and freeze warnings for parts of nine states, with alerts beginning late Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday morning.
AccuWeather meteorologists have warned that residents in the Northeast will experience the coldest air of the season. The NWS alerts encompass areas of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Most advisories are set to begin at 11 p.m. or midnight and extend until 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Temperatures are expected to range from 25 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest conditions are anticipated in central interior Cumberland and Androscoggin counties in Maine, including the cities of Lewiston and Auburn, which are under a freeze warning from midnight to 8 a.m. Wednesday.
A high-pressure system is driving winds across the region from the west and northwest, pushing the cold air southward. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Brett Anderson stated that the highest risk of a killing freeze will be from the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania to the Adirondacks of New York and the New England interior.
Sensitive vegetation in affected areas should be brought indoors or covered to protect against the frost and freezing temperatures. In Massachusetts, Franklin and Hampshire counties are under a freeze warning from 11 p.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday, with lows forecast between 26 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Frost advisories are in effect for additional areas, including Springfield, Worcester, and Lowell, where temperatures could dip to between 31 and 36 degrees Fahrenheit.
New York's northern Saratoga County, Washington County, and southeastern Warren County face a freeze warning from midnight to 8 a.m. Wednesday, with temperatures at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Frost advisories are in place for the Capital District, mid-Hudson Valley, and southern Taconics during the same hours, with lows of 33 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Orange and Putnam counties have an advisory from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m., with temperatures near 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Parts of Vermont’s Champlain Valley and northeastern New York are under a frost advisory from midnight to 7 a.m. Wednesday, with lows near 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Affected communities include Burlington, Middlebury, Plattsburgh, and Ticonderoga. In Connecticut, frost advisories cover northern and inland areas, including Hartford, with temperatures generally forecast between 31 and 36 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rhode Island's northwestern Providence County, western Kent County, and Washington County are under a frost advisory from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday, with lows between 31 and 36 degrees Fahrenheit. In Pennsylvania, frost advisories cover parts of the northeast, central counties, and the Poconos from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday, with temperatures potentially falling to the mid-30s. New Jersey's Sussex County is under a frost advisory for the same hours, with temperatures expected to fall to 33 degrees Fahrenheit.