Warmup coming for Midwest and Northeast in wake of snow and cold
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 19, 2022 12:40 PM EST
|
Updated Apr 21, 2022 3:09 AM EST
At the start of February, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter. It turns out there was a lot more than that in store, as people along the East Coast found out on the day after Easter.
A break in the weather pattern is coming for snow-and-cold-weary Americans from the Midwest to the central Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and New England in the coming days, AccuWeather meteorologists say. However, folks in those parts of the country may not want to take the snow brush out of the car just yet.
The storms that swung through the Midwest and Northeast at the start of this week will move off into eastern Canada. In the wake of the cold air and snow the storms helped to manufacture, warmer weather awaits as the jet stream shifts northward.
Warmth more typical of mid- to late April, and even late May in some cases, will expand from the central and southern Plains to the Midwest, southeast and central Appalachians during the middle and latter part of this week.
In many of the Central states, the warmup will waste little time with a return to temperatures above average for the time of the year on Thursday. Typical highs on April 20 in the central United States range from near 50 degrees Fahrenheit over the northern tier of the Midwest to the middle to upper 80s in South Texas. Chicago rebounded into the 50s Wednesday, hitting 52 degrees F in the late afternoon hours. The rebound will continue into the upper 60s Thursday, while highs will trend upward to the 80s along the central and western Gulf coast.
But the warmup in much of the central U.S will not stop there. As highs trend from the upper 80s to 90s over portions of Texas Saturday, many locations in the Midwest are likely to experience their warmest day of the year so far.
"Chicago is among the long list of cities likely to hit its high mark for 2022 so far," AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson said, adding that "a high in the lower 80s is projected for the city on Saturday." Prior to Saturday, the highest temperature thus far for Chicago's O'Hare Airport was 74 a month earlier on March 21.
With highs in the 70s to lower 80s projected, Minneapolis, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland and St. Louis are among the cities likely to have a new high-temperature mark for 2022 Saturday. Cities such as Nashville and Cincinnati may come close to their warmest days over the past several weeks.
The warmup will be enabled by a large storm that will move inland over the West during the middle and latter part of this week. The storm will force a northward bulge in the jet stream to its east over the Central states and could trigger an outbreak of severe weather over portions of the Plains Friday and perhaps part of the Midwest Saturday.
Farther east, a warming trend is coming and in some areas can match levels anticipated for the Midwest. However, the pattern in the Northeast is a bit more complex than its counterparts in the Central states.
As the storm that brought drenching rain to the coast and, in some cases, heavy snow over the interior moves away to the north, temperatures will quickly rebound. Mid- to late-April sunshine can work wonders as far as melting snow and raising temperatures -- even without the presence of a strong southwesterly breeze.
In Syracuse, New York, where the storm dumped several inches of snow and temperatures spent much of Tuesday in the 30s, highs are forecast to trend upward as the week progresses. On Wednesday, a high temperature of 50 degrees was recorded and by Thursday afternoon, temperatures will recover into the middle 50s, which is closer to average for this time of year.
By Friday, Boston and New York City, where chilly ocean waters tend to hold temperatures back in the spring, will partake in the warming trend with a high well into the 60s. Areas farther to the south and west, such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., will see the mercury climb into the 70s. Temperatures in Pittsburgh could approach 70 degrees as well at the end of the week.
However, there will be some complications in the warmup for parts of the Northeast and not only where chilly Atlantic Ocean water is a factor. A cold front will progress southeastward Friday and stall over parts of the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic Saturday.
Areas to the north and east of this frontal zone will experience a pause or slight reversal in the warming trend, while areas to the southwest are likely to enjoy ongoing warmth from the Midwest and south. Temperatures Saturday will hover in the 50s in Boston and may struggle to reach 60 in New York City.
But south and west of the front in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., temperatures will rise well into the 70s Saturday.
And a similar pattern will play out for the second half of the weekend.
Cool air is forecast to hold its ground in coastal areas of the Northeast Sunday, while warmth expands to more of the central Appalachians. Syracuse may hit 75 Sunday. Meanwhile, State College, Pennsylvania, which also picked up accumulating snow early in the week, will flirt with 80. State College could equal or exceed its 2022 high of 78 degrees set during a warm spell last week.
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Closer to the coast in the Northeast, there is a better chance for the warmest days of the pattern to occur early next week.
Looking farther ahead, this is probably not the year to plant the flower and vegetable garden early in the Midwest and Northeast, AccuWeather forecasters advise.
"The unfolding warmup is ephemeral," warned AccuWeather Long-Range Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg. There is no sustainable pattern shift in the making for warmth to prevail just yet, and more intrusions of cold air into the first part of May are likely, he explained.
"While snow will become more and more unlikely in the coming weeks, the chance of snow is not zero from the Dakotas to Michigan, and even over the mountains from West Virginia and Pennsylvania into New England," Lundberg added.
Indeed, a storm is forecast to bring more snow to parts of the Dakotas this weekend. And a snow event for the interior Northeast could come calling in early May.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Weather Forecasts
Warmup coming for Midwest and Northeast in wake of snow and cold
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 19, 2022 12:40 PM EST | Updated Apr 21, 2022 3:09 AM EST
At the start of February, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter. It turns out there was a lot more than that in store, as people along the East Coast found out on the day after Easter.
A break in the weather pattern is coming for snow-and-cold-weary Americans from the Midwest to the central Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and New England in the coming days, AccuWeather meteorologists say. However, folks in those parts of the country may not want to take the snow brush out of the car just yet.
The storms that swung through the Midwest and Northeast at the start of this week will move off into eastern Canada. In the wake of the cold air and snow the storms helped to manufacture, warmer weather awaits as the jet stream shifts northward.
Warmth more typical of mid- to late April, and even late May in some cases, will expand from the central and southern Plains to the Midwest, southeast and central Appalachians during the middle and latter part of this week.
In many of the Central states, the warmup will waste little time with a return to temperatures above average for the time of the year on Thursday. Typical highs on April 20 in the central United States range from near 50 degrees Fahrenheit over the northern tier of the Midwest to the middle to upper 80s in South Texas. Chicago rebounded into the 50s Wednesday, hitting 52 degrees F in the late afternoon hours. The rebound will continue into the upper 60s Thursday, while highs will trend upward to the 80s along the central and western Gulf coast.
But the warmup in much of the central U.S will not stop there. As highs trend from the upper 80s to 90s over portions of Texas Saturday, many locations in the Midwest are likely to experience their warmest day of the year so far.
"Chicago is among the long list of cities likely to hit its high mark for 2022 so far," AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson said, adding that "a high in the lower 80s is projected for the city on Saturday." Prior to Saturday, the highest temperature thus far for Chicago's O'Hare Airport was 74 a month earlier on March 21.
With highs in the 70s to lower 80s projected, Minneapolis, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland and St. Louis are among the cities likely to have a new high-temperature mark for 2022 Saturday. Cities such as Nashville and Cincinnati may come close to their warmest days over the past several weeks.
The warmup will be enabled by a large storm that will move inland over the West during the middle and latter part of this week. The storm will force a northward bulge in the jet stream to its east over the Central states and could trigger an outbreak of severe weather over portions of the Plains Friday and perhaps part of the Midwest Saturday.
Farther east, a warming trend is coming and in some areas can match levels anticipated for the Midwest. However, the pattern in the Northeast is a bit more complex than its counterparts in the Central states.
As the storm that brought drenching rain to the coast and, in some cases, heavy snow over the interior moves away to the north, temperatures will quickly rebound. Mid- to late-April sunshine can work wonders as far as melting snow and raising temperatures -- even without the presence of a strong southwesterly breeze.
In Syracuse, New York, where the storm dumped several inches of snow and temperatures spent much of Tuesday in the 30s, highs are forecast to trend upward as the week progresses. On Wednesday, a high temperature of 50 degrees was recorded and by Thursday afternoon, temperatures will recover into the middle 50s, which is closer to average for this time of year.
By Friday, Boston and New York City, where chilly ocean waters tend to hold temperatures back in the spring, will partake in the warming trend with a high well into the 60s. Areas farther to the south and west, such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., will see the mercury climb into the 70s. Temperatures in Pittsburgh could approach 70 degrees as well at the end of the week.
However, there will be some complications in the warmup for parts of the Northeast and not only where chilly Atlantic Ocean water is a factor. A cold front will progress southeastward Friday and stall over parts of the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic Saturday.
Areas to the north and east of this frontal zone will experience a pause or slight reversal in the warming trend, while areas to the southwest are likely to enjoy ongoing warmth from the Midwest and south. Temperatures Saturday will hover in the 50s in Boston and may struggle to reach 60 in New York City.
But south and west of the front in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., temperatures will rise well into the 70s Saturday.
And a similar pattern will play out for the second half of the weekend.
Cool air is forecast to hold its ground in coastal areas of the Northeast Sunday, while warmth expands to more of the central Appalachians. Syracuse may hit 75 Sunday. Meanwhile, State College, Pennsylvania, which also picked up accumulating snow early in the week, will flirt with 80. State College could equal or exceed its 2022 high of 78 degrees set during a warm spell last week.
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Closer to the coast in the Northeast, there is a better chance for the warmest days of the pattern to occur early next week.
Are the Northeast, Midwest done with snow for the season?
Looking farther ahead, this is probably not the year to plant the flower and vegetable garden early in the Midwest and Northeast, AccuWeather forecasters advise.
"The unfolding warmup is ephemeral," warned AccuWeather Long-Range Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg. There is no sustainable pattern shift in the making for warmth to prevail just yet, and more intrusions of cold air into the first part of May are likely, he explained.
"While snow will become more and more unlikely in the coming weeks, the chance of snow is not zero from the Dakotas to Michigan, and even over the mountains from West Virginia and Pennsylvania into New England," Lundberg added.
Indeed, a storm is forecast to bring more snow to parts of the Dakotas this weekend. And a snow event for the interior Northeast could come calling in early May.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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