(Bloomberg) -- A frigid blast that triggered a massive lake-effect snow storm across the US Great Lakes and blanketed New York City with sub-freezing temperatures will finally start to lose its grip on the region by this weekend.
Temperatures are forecast to rise closer to normal for this time of year, but with the end of the freezing readings there are chances for a couple of storms to sweep across the east, said Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center. Big Northeast cities are likely to see milder weather and rain, while inland areas may get some snow.
Over the weekend, cold air crossed record warm waters in the Great Lakes, unleashing a storm that closed a large stretch of I-90 – a major east-west US highway – and dropped 65.5 inches (166 centimeters) of snow at Barnes Corners, New York, near Lake Ontario, the weather prediction center said.
After a series of mild US winters, commodities traders are monitoring forecasts closely for signs of an arctic chill that would roil prices for energy and food. While climate change has led to higher temperatures overall, the lack of a strong La Niña or El Niño pattern — a cooling or warming of the equatorial Pacific — is contributing to uncertainty in the outlook this season.
Weather models have shifted warmer for Dec. 7 through Dec. 16, signaling lower demand for heating fuels, according to commercial forecaster Commodity Weather Group LLC. US natural gas futures fell as much as 6.4% Monday before paring some losses.
--With assistance from Elizabeth Elkin.
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