Warmth to make a comeback following abnormally cold Memorial Day weekend
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jun 2, 2021 9:04 AM EDT
Following a rare late-season cold snap that made it feel like March rather than the unofficial start of summer in the Northeast, a return to warmer weather is ahead, but AccuWeather meteorologists caution that a break from rain will be short-lived.
The Memorial Day weekend featured some of the coldest late-May weather on record. The chill forced many to turn on the heat and had campers outfitted in thermal attire to help fight off high temperatures in the 50s F and even the 40s in some locations.
Highs both days of the weekend at Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, were only in the 40s. The high on Saturday, May 29, at the mountaintop city was a mere 43 and shattered the old record of 53 set in 1990. The temperature on Sunday, May 30, was not much better with a high of 47, breaking the old record of 53 set in 1924.
Some higher-elevation areas of the interior Northeast even reported some accumulating snow early Saturday.
Visitors wearing chilly weather gear read the names of the fallen soldiers at Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the National Mall, ahead of Memorial Day, in Washington, D.C., Sunday, May 30, 2021. The high in the nation's capital on Sunday was only 58 F and more than 20 degrees below average. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Record low maximum temperatures as far back as the 1800s were destroyed in the mid-Atlantic region this past weekend. In New York City, the record on Saturday of 51 from 1884 was tied. On Sunday, a repeat high of 51 blasted the old record of 55 set once again in 1884.
Philadelphia set two daily record low maximum temperatures over the weekend with highs of 54 and 53 breaking 56 in 1884 and 59 in 1918 respectfully.
In fact, it was warmer on Christmas Day 2020 than this Memorial Day weekend in the Big Apple and City of Brotherly Love. The high on Dec. 25 in Central Park was 61 while in Philadelphia it was 65.
There were dozens of other record low maximum temperatures set over the weekend.
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With many likely fed up with the chill and the rain that came with it, meteorologists have some good news at least in the short term with both drier and warmer conditions in store for the first part of this week.
"The combination of a storm moving away and a northward retreat of the jet stream will allow more seasonable temperatures and dry weather conditions in the short term this week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said.
Into the middle of the week, an area of high pressure over the central Atlantic will be the dominating feature for the Appalachians and Atlantic seaboard. This system will create a southerly flow of warmer air, replacing the chilly northeasterly breeze from this past weekend.
Over the weekend, a pair of storms and a southward dip in the jet stream teamed up with a flow of air that brought both cool conditions from southern Canada and moisture from the Atlantic Ocean.
"In a lot of ways, this was a slow-moving nor'easter that affected the region over the weekend," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dean DeVore said.
Now that the storm system is leaving, most will likely not complain.
"Temperatures will rebound by an average of 20-30 degrees and should end up within a few degrees of normal this week," Gilbert said.
Following a high in the lower 70s on Memorial Day, which is about 20 degrees higher than levels experienced over the weekend, temperatures in Philadelphia are forecast to peak within a few degrees of 80 Wednesday through Friday. The average high for Philadelphia in early June is 73.
Highs in most areas will be in the 70s this week with some 80-degree or higher air for the major I-95 cities.
There is a caveat to the warmer weather pattern, however.
"Unlike dry conditions that flourished for weeks in May in the Eastern part of the nation, this warmup will 'dirty up' as well," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger.
The same area of high pressure over the Atlantic will stay but get squeezed as the combination of a storm system and southward dip in the jet stream over the Central states slowly drifts eastward.
This setup will allow moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to stream northeastward in the form of higher humidity levels, showers and thunderstorms. The shower and thunderstorm zone may be slow to reach the immediate Interstate 95 corridor and the beaches at first, but it will eventually expand to the entire region from middle parts of the week to late in the week.
Unlike the out-of-season pattern that affected the Northeast over the Memorial Day weekend, this setup is not all that uncommon for June.
The pattern for the middle to latter part of the week will not favor continuous all-day rain but rather conditions generally ranging from brief downpours with thunder to perhaps rain for a few hours. As is usually the case with the weather, there can be some exceptions.
A number of areas in the region were teetering on abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions, before the Memorial Day weekend rainfall. With the weekend storm bringing a general 1-2 inches of rain and locally higher amounts, the dryness has generally been nixed.
To put the anticipated, upcoming rain in perspective, where 1-2 inches of rain fell from this past weekend in 24-48 hours, a general 0.25 to 0.75 of an inch of rain is forecast from Wednesday to Friday.
The best bet for outdoor projects that require dry weather such as grass cutting, painting, concrete and paving operations along the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts will be through Wednesday, rather than the latter part of the week.
"Outdoor activities such as gardening, planting and mowing, which were likely put on hold Saturday and Sunday, should be able to resume into Wednesday across the East before unsettled conditions return for the second half of the week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
Some may even be able to squeeze in a round of golf, a walk or quick lawn cutting in between the showers and storms during the latter part of the week.
Embedded within the upcoming shower and thunderstorm regime may be small pockets of severe weather, as the air will be much warmer and more humid compared to the holiday weekend.
Conditions on the immediate beaches may not be as rainy as this past weekend and may not even end up as rainy as places 20 miles inland during the latter part of the week. However, a southerly flow still tends to bring moisture in from the Atlantic, and that is likely to lead to some cloudy, murky and drizzly days. Anytime there is a breeze off cool water, temperatures will be held back in that immediate area. Ocean water temperatures will range from the 50s in eastern New England to the 60s along much of the mid-Atlantic coast this week.
There is some hope for people with weekend plans for the first weekend in June. There is a chance the storm system pushes far enough to the east and the jet stream again retreats northward for showers and thunderstorms to dwindle by Saturday.
The drying trend for the weekend should allow more sunshine and temperatures to recover to the next level up and could be 5-10 degrees above average. Widespread highs in the 80s are possible for the coming weekend, and wet soil conditions are likely to prevent widespread highs in the 90s in the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic that could normally challenge record high temperatures. Part of the sun's energy will be used up in evaporating the moisture from the ground, instead of focusing solely on heating the air.
However, farther to the north over southern Canada and the northern tier of the Northeast, where little to no rain fell this past weekend and rainfall later this week may be more limited, heat may be more significant and extensive starting this weekend to early next week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather Forecasts
Warmth to make a comeback following abnormally cold Memorial Day weekend
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jun 2, 2021 9:04 AM EDT
Following a rare late-season cold snap that made it feel like March rather than the unofficial start of summer in the Northeast, a return to warmer weather is ahead, but AccuWeather meteorologists caution that a break from rain will be short-lived.
The Memorial Day weekend featured some of the coldest late-May weather on record. The chill forced many to turn on the heat and had campers outfitted in thermal attire to help fight off high temperatures in the 50s F and even the 40s in some locations.
Highs both days of the weekend at Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, were only in the 40s. The high on Saturday, May 29, at the mountaintop city was a mere 43 and shattered the old record of 53 set in 1990. The temperature on Sunday, May 30, was not much better with a high of 47, breaking the old record of 53 set in 1924.
Some higher-elevation areas of the interior Northeast even reported some accumulating snow early Saturday.
Visitors wearing chilly weather gear read the names of the fallen soldiers at Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the National Mall, ahead of Memorial Day, in Washington, D.C., Sunday, May 30, 2021. The high in the nation's capital on Sunday was only 58 F and more than 20 degrees below average. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Record low maximum temperatures as far back as the 1800s were destroyed in the mid-Atlantic region this past weekend. In New York City, the record on Saturday of 51 from 1884 was tied. On Sunday, a repeat high of 51 blasted the old record of 55 set once again in 1884.
Philadelphia set two daily record low maximum temperatures over the weekend with highs of 54 and 53 breaking 56 in 1884 and 59 in 1918 respectfully.
In fact, it was warmer on Christmas Day 2020 than this Memorial Day weekend in the Big Apple and City of Brotherly Love. The high on Dec. 25 in Central Park was 61 while in Philadelphia it was 65.
There were dozens of other record low maximum temperatures set over the weekend.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
With many likely fed up with the chill and the rain that came with it, meteorologists have some good news at least in the short term with both drier and warmer conditions in store for the first part of this week.
"The combination of a storm moving away and a northward retreat of the jet stream will allow more seasonable temperatures and dry weather conditions in the short term this week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said.
Into the middle of the week, an area of high pressure over the central Atlantic will be the dominating feature for the Appalachians and Atlantic seaboard. This system will create a southerly flow of warmer air, replacing the chilly northeasterly breeze from this past weekend.
Over the weekend, a pair of storms and a southward dip in the jet stream teamed up with a flow of air that brought both cool conditions from southern Canada and moisture from the Atlantic Ocean.
"In a lot of ways, this was a slow-moving nor'easter that affected the region over the weekend," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dean DeVore said.
Now that the storm system is leaving, most will likely not complain.
"Temperatures will rebound by an average of 20-30 degrees and should end up within a few degrees of normal this week," Gilbert said.
Following a high in the lower 70s on Memorial Day, which is about 20 degrees higher than levels experienced over the weekend, temperatures in Philadelphia are forecast to peak within a few degrees of 80 Wednesday through Friday. The average high for Philadelphia in early June is 73.
Highs in most areas will be in the 70s this week with some 80-degree or higher air for the major I-95 cities.
There is a caveat to the warmer weather pattern, however.
"Unlike dry conditions that flourished for weeks in May in the Eastern part of the nation, this warmup will 'dirty up' as well," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger.
The same area of high pressure over the Atlantic will stay but get squeezed as the combination of a storm system and southward dip in the jet stream over the Central states slowly drifts eastward.
This setup will allow moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to stream northeastward in the form of higher humidity levels, showers and thunderstorms. The shower and thunderstorm zone may be slow to reach the immediate Interstate 95 corridor and the beaches at first, but it will eventually expand to the entire region from middle parts of the week to late in the week.
Unlike the out-of-season pattern that affected the Northeast over the Memorial Day weekend, this setup is not all that uncommon for June.
The pattern for the middle to latter part of the week will not favor continuous all-day rain but rather conditions generally ranging from brief downpours with thunder to perhaps rain for a few hours. As is usually the case with the weather, there can be some exceptions.
A number of areas in the region were teetering on abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions, before the Memorial Day weekend rainfall. With the weekend storm bringing a general 1-2 inches of rain and locally higher amounts, the dryness has generally been nixed.
To put the anticipated, upcoming rain in perspective, where 1-2 inches of rain fell from this past weekend in 24-48 hours, a general 0.25 to 0.75 of an inch of rain is forecast from Wednesday to Friday.
The best bet for outdoor projects that require dry weather such as grass cutting, painting, concrete and paving operations along the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts will be through Wednesday, rather than the latter part of the week.
"Outdoor activities such as gardening, planting and mowing, which were likely put on hold Saturday and Sunday, should be able to resume into Wednesday across the East before unsettled conditions return for the second half of the week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
Some may even be able to squeeze in a round of golf, a walk or quick lawn cutting in between the showers and storms during the latter part of the week.
Embedded within the upcoming shower and thunderstorm regime may be small pockets of severe weather, as the air will be much warmer and more humid compared to the holiday weekend.
Conditions on the immediate beaches may not be as rainy as this past weekend and may not even end up as rainy as places 20 miles inland during the latter part of the week. However, a southerly flow still tends to bring moisture in from the Atlantic, and that is likely to lead to some cloudy, murky and drizzly days. Anytime there is a breeze off cool water, temperatures will be held back in that immediate area. Ocean water temperatures will range from the 50s in eastern New England to the 60s along much of the mid-Atlantic coast this week.
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There is some hope for people with weekend plans for the first weekend in June. There is a chance the storm system pushes far enough to the east and the jet stream again retreats northward for showers and thunderstorms to dwindle by Saturday.
The drying trend for the weekend should allow more sunshine and temperatures to recover to the next level up and could be 5-10 degrees above average. Widespread highs in the 80s are possible for the coming weekend, and wet soil conditions are likely to prevent widespread highs in the 90s in the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic that could normally challenge record high temperatures. Part of the sun's energy will be used up in evaporating the moisture from the ground, instead of focusing solely on heating the air.
However, farther to the north over southern Canada and the northern tier of the Northeast, where little to no rain fell this past weekend and rainfall later this week may be more limited, heat may be more significant and extensive starting this weekend to early next week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo