Spring weather whiplash: Northeast faces wild temperature swings
A rocky road is ahead in the temperature department with big daily temperature swings in many areas of the Northeast into early next week. Accompanying the swings will be chaotic weather conditions.
As severe storms swept across the Midwest toward the East Coast on April 2, hail poured down around Pittsburgh.
Knowing how to dress for the weather in the Northeast from one day to the next can be a real challenge in some areas as chill and warmth change hands multiple times into this week, AccuWeather meteorologists say. Some people may wish they wore shorts and short sleeves one day then scramble for jackets and fleece the next.
The temperature exchanges will be accompanied by rounds of drizzle and gusty showers and even locally severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, ice and snow in some cases—a prime example of spring weather chaos.
The crazy temperature pattern will be produced by a series of storms passing nearby and a mere flip of the wind from the warm Southern states and the Gulf versus the icy Atlantic and Canada. The setup will pose a real challenge for people to adjust as temperatures can fluctuate 10, 20, 30 and even 40 degrees Fahrenheit from one day to the next or vary so much on the same day over a few dozen miles.
"The pattern is similar to last weekend in the Northeast where temperatures hovered in the 30s, 40s and 50s in the chilly air, but outside of that chilly wedge, temperatures reached balmy levels in the 60s, 70s and 80s," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Dombek said.
For example, in New York City, following a chilly day on Wednesday with a raw northeast breeze and temperatures in the 40s, temperatures will rebounded to 73 F later Thursday. Similarly, in Boston, following a high of 39 on Wednesday, temperatures will bounced back to 65 on Thursday.
Cooler air invaded much of the central Appalachians, upper mid-Atlantic and New England into the start of the weekend.
Following a high near 70 on Friday in Boston, temperatures on Saturday ranged no higher than the mid-40s. In New York on Saturday, daytime temperatures lingered within a few degrees of 50.
On Sunday, once again, warm air will make a northeastward run across the region, and temperatures will be reversed in many areas.
Temperatures are projected to rise to the mid-50s in New York City and Boston for the second half of the weekend.
Farther southwest, such as in Washington, D.C., there will still be some temperature variations from one day to the next--after all it is spring. However, the nation's capital was generally on the higher side of the temperature battles with high temperatures through Saturday oscillating between the lower 80s and the upper 70s. Sunday, Washington D.C. is forecast to only eclipse the 70 degree mark.
Farther south, such as in Richmond, Virginia, warmth will dominate over the remainder of the weekend with highs in the 80s.
Meanwhile, in northern Maine, the highest temperatures may get through the weekend may be the mid-40s, as the region will tend to miss out on the warm surges to the south.
Looking ahead to this week, a recent fluctuation of the polar vortex may help initiate a cold outbreak in the Northeast.
Several days with temperatures of 10-20 degrees below the historical average could put a bit of a strain on ball games, bike rides, golf rounds and sporting activities in general.
The typical high in New York City during the second week of April is in the upper 50s. The pattern could bring multiple days with highs in the 40s in the Big Apple. Once again, factoring in some wind and cloudy episodes, perhaps with gusty showers, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures can dip some 10-20 degrees lower than the actual temperature at times.
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