U.S. Weather Forecast: Cold Weather Eyes Pacific Northwest, to Persist on East Coast by April 24

Cold weather will return in some parts of the United States, including in the Pacific Northwest, by the start of the new week, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The NWS issued a new U.S. weather forecast that frost or freeze conditions are expected across the central Great Plains and the Midwest by early Monday morning, April 24.

A low-pressure area will track the Northwest and move inland into the Intermountain West and Rocky Mountains by early week.

There will be periods of mountain snow and rain accompanied by gusty winds during the period, the U.S. weather agency said.

NWS Weather Forecast

On Sunday afternoon, April 23, the agency's Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said March-like temperatures with frost or freeze events are expected for most of the eastern two-thirds of Lower 48 states.

In the Pacific Northwest, mountain snow and showers in coastal and valley areas will continue to spread into the northern-central Rockies.

In addition, inclement weather will also linger in the New England region as of Sunday night to Monday, according to the WPC, which said that a "large dome of Canadian high pressure" has covered the U.S. Heartland and will spread into the Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic regions.

The latest weather event is similar to that of last week, wherein a blast of cold air wiped away summer-like warm weather across the central and eastern parts of the country, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

Recent Winter Weather

A deadly bomb cyclone or winter hurricane in the form of a blizzard that struck western New York and other areas across the country in late December 2022 has persisted in early 2023.

In particular, an Arctic fold front due to the polar vortex in the Northern Hemisphere has brought extreme cold temperatures across Canada and even in the northern half of the U.S.

The recent winter weather also saw the persistence of recurring heavy rainfall and flooding in California, which was bombarded with water vapor-carrying atmospheric rivers in January.

The wintry conditions have subsided as the spring season started on March 20, but the occurrence of related weather phenomenon, including snowfall and the looming cold weather threat, are still existent.

Heavy Snow and Severe Weather

Last week, the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR News) reported a forecast of heavy snow for northern Minnesota into Friday, April 21.

This comes amid a severe weather that affected multiple states in the central U.S. and its surrounding regions, where heavy rain was also forecasted.

Local reports also called a part of the same storm system in the region as a winter storm, which moved across northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota last Thursday, April 20, to Friday, where it was expected to bring a series of heavy snow across the region, the Grand Forks Herald reported, with data from the NWS.