A dramatic pattern change is set to deliver a significant late-season cold snap across the eastern United States this week. An arctic air mass will plunge southward beginning Wednesday, dropping temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below normal.
Frost and freeze warnings are likely for areas as far south as northern Georgia and the Carolinas by Thursday morning. Agricultural interests should take protective measures for vulnerable crops and orchards already in bloom.
The cold snap is expected to be brief but intense, with temperatures rebounding to near-normal levels by the weekend as high pressure builds back in from the west.
