Two strong cold air waves will enter the northern US region when 2025 ends and 2026 begins" - Renee Duff, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said in an online weather forecast.
He added that after each cold air wave, the temperature will decrease and snowfall due to the lake effect will be activated.
Temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius are forecast to occur in the Gulf of Mexico on December 30, according to a forecast map from the US Weather Forecasting Center (WPC).
Temperatures will drop sharply in early 2026 across the Five Lakes, Northeast and Southeast regions" - meteorologist Ryan Maue of Weather Trader said.
It is forecast that the temperature will drop suddenly in the context of recently recorded warm weather spells that will shock some areas.
The highest temperature of the day may drop by more than 17 degrees Celsius in just 24 hours, from December 28 to December 29, of which the strongest drop is forecast to occur in the Ohio Valley area, Mr. Duff predicted.
In Indianapolis, the highest temperature on December 29 is expected to be only about -4 degrees Celsius, after reaching a near-record warm level of about 16-17 degrees Celsius on December 28.
AccuWeather forecasts that on December 30, the daytime temperature in the northeastern United States will be commonly at -7 degrees Celsius to 4 degrees Celsius, while the upper midwest area may record temperatures below -12 degrees Celsius, even near -18 degrees Celsius in some places.
An intensified cold air mass from the Arctic is forecast to pour down from Canada, entering the northeastern US region right at the time of transition to 2026.
Stepping into early January, the coldest air mass will be concentrated in western Canada, but colder air masses may sometimes be pulled south after storm systems formed in the Rockies and Plains, and then quickly affect the east" - meteorologist Paul Pastelok of AccuWeather noted.
Despite the severe cold, this Arctic cold air wave is unlikely to reach a record level, according to the US Weather Forecast Center.
Weather.com's online weather forecast indicates that January 2026 is likely to continue the trend of late December 2025, with higher than average temperatures in most of the southern United States, Weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles said.
He also predicted that February 2026 may record the warmest level compared to the multi-year average in the US East Coast region.
This forecast depends on the stratosphere vortex, a factor that is said to strengthen at the beginning of the new year, causing the possibility of prolonged severe cold spells in the US to decrease, although storm systems can still lead to humid and cold weather in waves.
