The cold wave will affect the central and eastern parts of North America

Affected by the eastward movement of an upper-level trough (Figure 1), a new round of cold wave weather is expected to hit the central and eastern regions of North America. From April 5 to 8, areas including central and eastern Canada, central and eastern United States, and northern Mexico will experience temperature drops of 8 to 14°C. In particular, parts of the eastern United States and Ontario, Canada, are forecasted to see temperature decreases exceeding 16°C (Figure 2). These regions will also be accompanied by winds of 4 to 6 on the Beaufort scale, with gusts reaching 7 to 8, and in northern Mexico, gusts could reach as high as 9 to 10 (Figure 3). Eastern Canada and western United States will see moderate to heavy snow or sleet, with localized areas experiencing blizzard or severe blizzard conditions. The eastern United States will face heavy to torrential rain, with parts of Arkansas and Missouri likely to witness extremely heavy rain (Figure 4).

Figure 1. Mean geopotential height at 500 hPa (contours) and wind field at 850 hPa (barbs, with speed shaded) from April 5 to 8, 2025

Figure 2. 48-hour temperature variation at 2-meter height at 20:00 UTC on April 7, 2025 (Unit: °C)

Figure 3. Maximum Gusts in a 24-hour Period at 08:00 on April 6, 2025 (Unit: m/s)

Figure 4. Accumulated precipitation (rain and snow) from 08:00 hours on April 5th to 08:00 hours on April 6th, 2025 (Unit: mm)

Author: Hu Yingying                                 Reviewer: Niu Ruoyun 

English reviewer:Wang Yi                                                                       Issue approver:Dai kan