Cold air to leave prior to official start of winter

ACCUWEATHER: Cold winds contributed to Temperatures in the teens and 20s across much of the region Saturday.

Anyone heading out to shop on the final weekend before Christmas will need to bundle up as you head outdoors.

The coldest air settled over the Interstate-95 corridor on Saturday, where temperatures struggled to dip to the freezing mark from Boston to Washington, D.C., thus far.

In New York City's Central Park, the temperature has dipped to 32 only once on Nov. 24, prior to this weekend.

Temperatures will begin to rebound from west to east spanning Sunday in much of the Midwest and Monday in the Northeast.

The first several days of winter will feel more like spring. Winter officially begins on 11:49 p.m. EST, Monday, Dec. 21. Temperatures could challenge record high levels by Wednesday.

Storms forecast to take aim on the region next week will bring rain and not snow to the vast majority of the East.

Content contributed by AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.