Arctic air to hit Upper Midwest and Northeast, early look into winter

An early winter preview is forecast for the Upper Midwest, the Ohio Valley and the Northeast next week, as a strong dip in the polar jet stream is expected to plunge temperatures anywhere from 10-20 degrees below average for more than 200 million Americans.

The colder conditions will also create the potential for light to moderate snow across that region beginning Sunday, the first of the season for many.

A strong area of low pressure will usher in the coldest air of the season from Canada into parts of the Lower 48 beginning Sunday.

Major cities around the Great Lakes could see temperatures plunge more than 20 degrees between Friday and Monday.

Cleveland has a forecast high temperature of 60 degrees on Friday and will struggle to reach 40 degrees come Monday.

The colder temperatures will reach parts of the Southeast with projected low temperatures in the 30s on Monday for places like Atlanta and as far south as Jackson, Mississippi.

While air temperatures will plummet, water temperatures across the Great Lakes will remain warm, creating the potential for lake-effect snow for places like Grand Rapids, Michigan, Cleveland and Buffalo, New York.

Snow could also fall across interior parts of Maine, as well as, New Hampshire and Vermont.

The FOX Forecast Center said specific rain and snowfall totals from computer forecast models will come into better focus over the next few days.

According to FOX Weather Center, the cold is expected to spread farther east into Tuesday. 

Locales at lower elevations in the interior Northeast, including Boston, typically see their first snow in the final weeks of November, while the first flakes across the rest of the country usually fall in December.