Another shot of cold air, snow to hit Midwest and Eastern U.S.

Another shot of cold air will follow a fast-moving storm forecast to sweep from the Midwest to the East during the second half of the week.

People from the Midwest to the East will need an array of outdoor gear into next week.

Before the chill hits, temperatures will moderate during the first part of the week over much of the eastern half of the nation.

Conditions will be favorable for storm cleanup early this week around the Chicago Lakefront and at midweek in northern New England. Waves washed over Lake Shore Drive in Chicago following a blast of snow on Halloween. Record snow amounts buried New England as the same storm pushed off the coast and ramped up. The milder air will also make raking leaves a little less painful from the Midwest to the Appalachians and Northeast.

The storm later this week will not be as strong as the system that hit the Midwest and East this past weekend. However, it will bring spotty rain and snow to parts of the northern Plains Wednesday then the Great Lakes on Thursday.

In the wake of the storm, winds will kick up, bringing in a quick dose of cold air and localized lake-effect snow to parts of the Upper Midwest.

Winds with the cold shot will not be as intense and more from the west in the wake of the storm around the Great Lakes. The southeastern shoreline of Lake Michigan will be hit with wave action, rather than Chicago during this round. The northwest flow will bring more lake-effect flurries and snow areas farther east over the Midwest when compared to this past weekend.

As the storm approaches the Northeast on Thursday, it will scoop up some of the drenching rain forecast to surge across Texas and the southern Plains. Thursday will be umbrella weather for many areas along the Atlantic coast. Rain could be heavy enough to slow travel for at least part of the day from Atlanta to Raleigh, North Carolina, Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston.

The storm will strengthen over northern New England and neighboring Canada Thursday night into Friday. However, instead of bringing another dose of heavy snow to coastal areas in eastern New England that were hit on Sunday, dry air will sweep in.

The wake of the storm will funnel some Great Lakes moisture toward the central and southern Appalachians in the form of snow showers Thursday night and Friday. Areas from the mountains of North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and West Virginia to western Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York state may receive a small accumulation as rain showers change to snow before ending.

The weather into the first part of next week will be somewhat of quick-change artist.

AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams stated that rather than warm weather hanging on for days in the Midwest and East, the pattern into early next week will favor changes from warm to cold every two days or so.

Toward the middle of the month, the weather pattern may bring a longer-lasting blast of cold air that can take a small bite out of the heating season budget.

According to AccuWeather.com Long Range Expert Paul Pastelok, "The large outbreak of cold air later next will tend to focus over the North Central states, where the lowest temperatures of the fall so far are likely to be recorded."

People will be reaching for the thermostat and heavy coats over the Midwest.

Temperatures later next week may dip into the single digits over parts of the northern Plains and the Upper Midwest.

Much less severe cold will spill across the Appalachians to the Atlantic coast later next week, when compared to the Midwest. However, gusty winds accompanying the cold contribute to another sudden drop in AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the South and East.