Good news if you like cold weather: below-average temperatures are favored through at least the middle of the month across the eastern two-thirds the country (see figure 1).
The next cold front will likely sweep through Thursday/Friday; it will bring the coldest air of the season thus far.
However, it is looking increasingly possible the strength of the shot of cold air expected toward the end of this week could be quickly eclipsed.
The GFS ensembles (GEFS) and ECMWF ensembles (EPS) are in agreement on significant blast of arctic air early to mid next week, predicting temperatures to drop as much as 10 to 12 degrees (C) below normal (see figure 2).
Should the output from the GEFS and EPS verify, it is possible the freezing line would advance as far south as the I-10 corridor.
This is still quite a ways out in time though, and therefore not yet a certainty.