Spring split: Midwest enjoys 70s and 80s while Northeast battles cold
Warm air will surge into the Midwest with highs in the 70s and 80s this week with some rebound in temperatures coming to the Northeast following Tuesday's freeze. However, chill will quickly return to New England.
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As the Northeast shivered through Tuesday night, warmer air built over the Plains on Monday and will expand across the Midwest through Wednesday. Some warming is in store for the Northeast as well, but it will pale in comparison to last week and will be significantly limited in New England.
Temperatures across much of the Midwest will trend 10-20 degrees above the historical average this week, based on the most recent 30-year period.
After barely reaching 50 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday and inching into the 50s Monday afternoon, Chicago residents will be able to shed jackets and long sleeves for shorts during the daytime for the rest of the week, with highs mainly in the 70s. Temperatures may even approach 80 on Thursday.
Temperatures rebounded to 66 on Monday and will climb into the 80s through Thursday in St. Louis, ahead of showers and thunderstorms later in the week.
Some storms across the Plains and the Mississippi Valley will be severe.
Chill put up a fight in Northeast
Farther east, temperatures in Pittsburgh surged by 40 degrees in roughly 12 hours on Tuesday. After a frosty morning low of 29, readings climbed to 69 degrees in the afternoon.
"Tuesday began with a widespread, damaging freeze in the Northeast," said AccuWeather Assistant Chief On-Air Meteorologist Geoff Cornish
"While additional frosts and freezes are possible—if not likely—across the interior Northeast this spring, Tuesday morning could represent the last frost or freeze of the season for most major metro areas," Cornish added.
A sampling of low temperatures on Tuesday morning included 29 in Pittsburgh; 25 in Springfield, Massachusetts; 24 in Staunton, Virginia; 17 in Bradford, Pennsylvania; and 12 in Saranac Lake, New York. Temperatures bottomed out at 34 in New York City's Central Park and at Philadelphia International Airport. The 24-degree reading was the lowest for so late in the season at Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Some warmer air is moving into the mid-Atlantic coast and southern New England, but it will be cut short by a new push of chilly air from Canada and the Atlantic later this week.
In New York City, after another day with a high in the 50s on Wednesday, temperatures will rebound to the mid-70s on Thursday. However, to close out the week, highs may not rise above the 50s on Friday and Saturday as another push of chilly air arrives.
Longtime New England residents know that consistently warm spring days are uncommon. The warmest day this week will likely be Thursday, with highs ranging from the 50s to the low 60s.
The current cold wave will be slow to release its grip, and another batch of chilly air will move in late in the week, bringing additional freezing temperatures to parts of New England and northeastern New York.
From one batch of air to the other in the Northeast, temperatures will vary by 20-40 degrees.
Farther south, pleasant warmth is forecast this week, with highs ranging from the 70s to the 80s.
The only caveat in the Southeast will be the continued lack of rainfall, which will cause water levels to drop and wildfire potential to increase.
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