If it feels like the country is split in two, you’re not far off. A cold front is moving down the East and bringing the first freezes all the way to the Deep South, including northern Florida. Meanwhile, a Pacific storm is hitting California and the Northwest with rain, wind and snow. And on Sunday, November 15, it’s Texas’s turn, with rain and possible thunderstorms. Let’s break it down so you know what to expect where you live.
According to Weather.com, a coastal nor’easter brings rain this Friday, November 13, to the I-95 corridor: southern New England and the New York and New Jersey area. With it comes the first accumulating snow of the season in high inland areas: the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, the Berkshires, the Adirondacks and the Catskills. Snow is also expected in the Appalachians, from West Virginia to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The same source reports that on Thursday, November 12, the storm brought damaging winds, hail and even a tornado near Wilmington, Delaware. Gusts of up to 30 mph are expected this Friday, but Weather.com does not consider it a high-impact storm.
The National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center (WPC) adds that cold flow over the Great Lakes is keeping lake-effect rain and snow going through Saturday, November 14. Ryan Hall, in his November 12 forecast, talks about more than 12 inches in spots of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. And what you’ll notice most: according to Weather.com, highs are stuck in the 40s °F across much of the Midwest and Northeast from Friday through Sunday, and the cold would linger in the East until early next week.
Do the first flakes sound familiar? We already told you about the first flakes of the season in an earlier story.
This is the part that surprises the most. According to USA Today, citing AccuWeather and the FOX Forecast Center, the cold air could bring the first hard freeze of the season to parts of the Midwest, the Ohio Valley and the South starting the night of November 13. About 230 million people would feel below-normal temperatures, although records are not expected to be broken.
Weather.com notes that this weekend could bring the first freeze of the season to much of the Carolinas, northern and central Georgia, and northern and central Alabama. There are frost and freeze alerts in parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and northern Georgia through Saturday morning, with lows of 28 to 32 °F. The WPC also mentioned freeze and frost advisories in eastern Oklahoma and northern Arkansas, and freeze watches in the interior of the Gulf states. By Sunday morning, the risk of freeze or frost extends to parts of the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic.
In Florida, according to Jacksonville.com (USA Today Network), citing AccuWeather and NWS offices, the front crossed the northern part of the state Thursday night, central Florida early Friday, and would clear the south Friday afternoon. It is the coldest air of the season. The NWS in Mobile forecasts lows in the lower to mid 30s °F in the Panhandle Friday and Saturday nights. The NWS in Tampa Bay estimates about 10 degrees below normal, with possible lows in the upper 30s °F in parts of the Nature Coast. The NWS in Melbourne gives a 10% to 15% chance of feels-like temperatures in the upper 30s °F from Orlando northward Saturday morning.
If you live in the Southeast, these freezes come after the ones earlier this week: here we review what happened.
According to the WPC, a deep trough in the West is bringing a front with rain on the Pacific coast and snow at higher elevations. Moderate to heavy rain is expected in Washington, Oregon and northern California, with possible thunderstorms. There are high wind watches and wind advisories this Friday in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. In addition, the WPC reported winter storm warnings in parts of the Sierra Nevada and coastal flood advisories in parts of the San Francisco area. Snow in the Sierra would continue through Saturday, and that day there is a chance of localized flooding in northwestern Washington.
Ryan Hall mentions possible gusts near 66 mph around Reno and about 48 mph in San Francisco. He also warns that in the northern Sierra, snow could fall at 1 to 3 inches per hour, with blizzard conditions in the mountain passes. If you’re planning to travel there, check road conditions first.
And this won’t end soon: the WPC sees more Pacific storms next week, with snow in the Cascades and the Sierra and rain reaching California on Tuesday, November 17, and especially Wednesday, November 18. If you want to understand these systems, we have a story about atmospheric rivers in the Northwest.
According to the WPC, a system coming from Baja California brings showers and thunderstorms to southwestern and western Texas, with more rain Saturday in the southern High Plains and in Texas. On Sunday, November 15, rain would be moderate to locally heavy in eastern Texas and Louisiana, and highs would stay in the 50s °F in parts of Texas, more typical of January. Ryan Hall talks about possible thunderstorms Sunday in southern and central Texas toward the lower coast, with isolated damaging gusts, but he makes clear he has low confidence in that forecast. It’s worth keeping an eye on updates.
These are NWS forecasts (api.weather.gov), checked on the morning of Friday, November 13. Figures are high/low in °F:
These are general tips, not quotes from the forecasts:
What you read here is the big picture, but the weather changes from one neighborhood to the next. Enter your ZIP code at weather.gov to see the NWS forecast for your area and current alerts. And if you want to follow the thread of this fall, review the stories above on the freezes, the first flakes and atmospheric rivers. Which of these systems is headed your way? Think about it before the weekend.
Sources: NWS Weather Prediction Center: short-range discussion; NWS Weather Prediction Center: extended discussion; National Weather Service, city forecasts; Weather.com; USA Today; Jacksonville.com; Ryan Hall, Y'all. Data accessed November 13, 2026.
