Honestly, if you're looking at your phone's default weather app right now, you're probably getting a sanitized version of the truth. Weather for tomorrow Thursday, January 22, 2026, isn't just a "chilly day" or a "bit of rain." We are currently sitting in the crosshairs of a major atmospheric reconfiguration.
The jet stream is behaving like a frayed garden hose.
Across the Northern Hemisphere, we're seeing the fallout from a mid-January stratospheric warming event. This isn't just geeky meteorology talk. It means the Polar Vortex—that giant spinning top of cold air over the Arctic—has essentially wobbled off its axis and is leaking "purple" cold down into the mid-latitudes.
If you're in the UK, northern Scotland is already bracing for snow, while the Northeast U.S. is trapped in a "nickel-and-dime" pattern of freezing drizzle and gray slush.
The Big Picture for Thursday, January 22
Let's look at the actual numbers. In London, the high is struggling to hit 6°C. That sounds manageable, but with a persistent southwest wind at 3 Bft, it’s the kind of damp cold that gets under your skin. Over in New York City, the mercury is hovering around 1°C (34°F). It’s basically a refrigerator outside.
The real story for weather for tomorrow Thursday is the inconsistency.
One town gets a dusting of snow; the next town over just gets a dirty windshield from road salt spray. This is the classic "weak La Niña" transition we’ve been tracking since the start of the year. Forecasters like Brad Pugh at the Climate Prediction Center have been flagging this "Phase 6" Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) movement. Basically, the tropical Pacific is pushing energy into the atmosphere that forces the Eastern U.S. and Europe into a persistent "cold trough."
It’s not a blizzard. It’s just... annoying.
Regional Breakdown: What to Actually Expect
- The UK and Northern Europe: Storm Goretti left the ground saturated. Thursday brings a messy mix. Expect about 0.7 mm of precipitation—enough to make the morning commute feel like a slog through a car wash, but not enough to cancel school.
- The U.S. Northeast and Great Lakes: Finger Lakes weather experts are calling this "constant companion" snow. It’s lake-effect season. You’ll see those localized bands where one minute it’s sunny and the next you can’t see the end of your driveway.
- The American South: You aren't safe from the weirdness. While it’s not freezing, the "cold air damming" against the Appalachians is keeping things significantly cooler than the "January thaw" everyone was hoping for.
Why the Forecasts Keep Shifting
Have you noticed how the "chance of rain" for Thursday keeps bouncing between 20% and 60%?
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That's because the models (the GEFS and ECMWF for the pros) are currently fighting. One model thinks the Arctic air will stay pinned against the mountains. The other thinks it will spill toward the coast. When the models disagree, your app just averages it out, which usually results in a forecast that satisfies no one and prepares you for nothing.
The Arctic Oscillation (AO) is currently in a negative phase.
When the AO is negative, the "fence" around the North Pole is broken. Cold air wanders. This is why we're seeing snow in northern Scotland and potential sleet in the North Carolina mountains on the same day.
Misconceptions About Tomorrow's Cold
People think a "warm" January is a good sign for spring. It's usually the opposite. We had record-setting rainfall and warmth around January 8th—remember those 60-degree days in Chicago? That warmth was the energy that disrupted the stratosphere.
Now, we’re paying the bill.
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The ground in places like Wisconsin and Minnesota is frozen solid, meaning even a little bit of Thursday's rain will create instant black ice. It doesn't need to be a "storm" to be dangerous.
Actionable Steps for Thursday
- Check the Dew Point, Not Just the Temp: If the dew point is significantly lower than the air temperature (which it will be tomorrow in the Mid-Atlantic), any rain that starts falling will "evaporate-cool" the air, turning rain to sleet faster than you can find your scraper.
- Monitor "Shortwave" Energy: Keep an eye on local radar for small, fast-moving blobs of green and blue. These "vort maxes" are riding the jet stream and can cause 20-minute whiteouts even when the "official" forecast says "partly cloudy."
- Tire Pressure Check: This massive drop in temperature from the early-January highs has likely deflated your tires by 2-4 PSI. Thursday’s cold is the day that "low pressure" light finally stays on.
- Watch the Winds: With the Polar Vortex core stretched into eastern Canada, the wind chill on Thursday will make that 1°C feel more like -5°C. Layers aren't optional tomorrow.
Weather for tomorrow Thursday is a reminder that January in 2026 is playing by its own rules. We are moving toward an ENSO-neutral state, and that transition is always messy. Don't trust the "sunny" icon on your phone—pack the gloves.