Cold air will trigger frost and freeze across the interior Northeast as fall chill sets in

With mid-October only days away and the heat that marked last weekend a distant memory, it’s time to refresh those apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes. Autumn weather will return for good this week, with the arrival of a noticeable cold. Frosts and frosts that could end the growing season are expected Thursday evening.

Gardeners in central New York, much of Pennsylvania and central New England should harvest or cover susceptible plants before the risk of frost. Previous frosts and freezes have already ended the growing season in the northern section.

High temperatures in the 80s that persisted in the Upper Midwest last weekend and the Northeast coast earlier this week have now been replaced by a colder pattern coming from Canada. The trend will progress and intensify providing crisp and fresh Canadian air through the end of the week.

Where winds decrease and skies remain clear, temperatures will drop in dry air. Scattered frosts are likely in parts of the Great Lakes and northern Interior of the Northeast Wednesday evening.

Widespread freezing and freezing conditions are expected Thursday evening across much of the interior Northeast, with temperatures falling into the 20s in the colder valleys.

In the coldest locations, temperatures will drop as much as 10 degrees in northeastern New York and northwest New England.

Frosts are not expected in downtown areas from Boston to New York and Washington, D.C., which is good news for those still tending to gardens. However, distant suburbs may experience scattered frosts. A killing frost is forecast from the mountain valleys of West Virginia to northern Maine. It is likely that the immediate shores of Lakes Erie, Ontario and Huron will escape frost.

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Further frost may occur in parts of the interior Northeast Friday evening, but the overall trend in temperatures is expected to be slowly upward through the weekend.

A tropical wind and rainstorm is expected to develop Sunday into Monday and track northward along the east coast. Depending on the exact track, this system will cause coastal flooding, high winds and beach erosion. AccuWeather meteorologists are closely monitoring the potential for damaging impacts, particularly over coastal New England and the mid-Atlantic.

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