After a quiet start, Old Man Winter kicked in the door on the natural gas market and fueled massive gains for December baseload natural gas prices, according to NGI’s Bidweek Alert (BWA).

Algonquin Citygate Bidweek

Basis prices in the Northeast, particularly New England, were seen in the mid-teens as record-setting overnight temperatures and an eye-popping lake-effect snowstorm hit the region this week. Though forecasts point to much milder weather around the Thanksgiving holiday, the cold blast served as a stark reminder of the toll frigid temperatures and constrained pipeline capacity can take on regional gas prices.

What’s more, there is some discrepancy in the weather data, which keeps in play the risk of cold returning in the next couple of weeks. NatGasWeather said frigid air remains on track to...