The strongest cold spell of the season is expected to sweep from Canada into the US in the days after Thanksgiving and early December, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Previously, US forecasters warned of harsh winter weather that could cause travel problems ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The US National Weather Service in Sacramento, California, issued a winter storm warning to the Sierra Nevada region from November 23 to 25, with forecasts of heavy snowfall in higher ground and gusts of up to 88 km/h. A total of about 1.2m of snowfall is forecast, with the heaviest accumulation expected on November 24 and 25.
Forecasters say the Midwest and five continents will see rain and snow on November 25, while the East Coast will be hit hardest on Thanksgiving (November 28) and Black Friday (November 29).
A low pressure system is forecast to bring rain to the Southeast on the morning of November 28 before moving to the Northeast.
Areas from Boston to New York could see heavy rain and winds, with snow possible in northern New Hampshire, northern Maine and the Adirondacks.
US weather forecasters say that if the depression moves deeper inland, there will be less snowfall and more rain in mountainous areas.
The announcement of the cold spell comes as California and Washington recover from storm damage and power outages, according to AP.
In California, one person was found dead in a car submerged in floodwaters on November 23. Officials are bracing for more rain as they struggle with flooding and mudslides from a previous storm. Thousands of people in the northwest Pacific remain without power for many days.
Earlier this week, two people died as a storm made landfall in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Hundreds of thousands of people lost power, mostly in the Seattle area, as strong winds swept through northern California. A rapidly intensifying "bomb cyclone" hit the US West Coast on November 19, causing fierce winds that damaged homes and vehicles.
The National Weather Service in San Francisco Bay said Santa Rosa, California, recorded three record-breaking days of humidity with about 320mm of rainfall on the evening of November 22. Grape gardens in nearby Windsor, California, were also flooded on November 23.
About 80,000 people in the Seattle area remained without power due to the strongest atmospheric river of the season. This is a long moist air mass that forms over the ocean and crosses the mainland.
Another storm is bringing rain to New York and New Jersey and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. Rainfall is expected to help ease droughts after a particularly dry autumn.
Heavy snowfall in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains. Rainfall in West Virginia has helped ease the state's worst drought in at least two decades and prompted ski resorts to prepare to reopen in the coming weeks.
