Frigid Weather to Come

After what will be a mild day with fairly quiet weather today, Monday evening into Tuesday morning will bring some frigid temperatures, reminding us that even though spring will have begun, we are still susceptible to cold weather.

What will happen? Well, a few factors will contribute to this cold weather, despite the mild conditions that we'll experience to close out the weekend. First, a series of cold fronts will move through the region, as shown in the following NWS surface maps:

This morning (NWS)

Tomorrow morning (NWS)

These fronts will contribute to falling temperatures, some precipitation that could include snowfall if temperatures drop enough, and gusty winds. 

Following these cold fronts, a wavy jet stream will cause a part of the polar vortex to descend into our region on Monday night into Tuesday.

(Tropical Tidbits)

If we pick out a GFS sounding for Vermont for around midnight on Monday, we can see cold surface temperatures and a steep lapse rates which will contribute to gusty winds, compounding the effects of the cold temperatures.

(Tropical Tidbits)

What does this mean for conditions at the surface? I'd expect temperatures below zero for much of interior New England, and upper elevations in the mountains could reach -10 °F.

(Tropical Tidbits)

Combine the frigid surface temperatures with winds that could gust to 45 mph, and you're looking at wind chills that could reach -30 °F in spots! That certainly is cold.

(Pivotal Weather)