Wild temperature swings, rain to impact East before calmer pattern arrives early this week
From summerlike warmth to chilly coastal air and rounds of rain, much of the East will face a chaotic stretch of weather through Easter before a quieter, warmer pattern emerges in the early week.
Temperatures have been up and down this week in the Northeast, and that’s expected to continue in the coming days. Bernie Rayno has more.
A complex weather pattern bringing temperature swings and storms across the eastern United States will simplify this week — but not before some topsy-turvy conditions leading into Easter Sunday.
Areas from New England to the mid-Atlantic experienced a "backdoor cold front" from Wednesday to Thursday as chilly air from over the Atlantic Ocean pushed southwestward.
Following a high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit in New York City Wednesday, which was the third day in a row with highs in the 70s to near 80, temperatures plunged through the 50s and into the 40s Wednesday night. By early Thursday, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures hovered in the mid-30s, as a raw easterly breeze of 12-25 mph whistled through Manhattan.
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Similarly, people in Washington, D.C., experienced the tail end of cherry blossom season with RealFeel® Temperatures near 90 Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday morning, however, the backdoor front dropped temperatures into the 50s with low clouds and drizzle.
The effects of the front began to fade on Friday as a new surge of warm air expanded eastward from the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee valleys.
Some daily record highs were challenged from the Mississippi River to parts of the Atlantic coast on Saturday. However, a new cold front was gaining momentum in the afternoon, affecting New England and moving west.
The high in Philadelphia on Saturday broke the record of 80 set in 1892, but was expected to fall quickly into Saturday night behind the backdoor cold front.
Later in the Easter weekend, a strong cold front will arrive from the Midwest with showers and locally severe thunderstorms.
In the wake of the front, highs in Philadelphia are forecast to only be in the 50s on Monday and Tuesday.
Cooler air will settle into the Southeast in the early week, and a dry stretch will resume for tens of millions of people.
Following showers and thunderstorms from Saturday night into Sunday night, the Southeast could have a week or more of dry weather in many areas. The weather could be dry throughout the 2026 Masters at Augusta National in Georgia. The only exceptions may be spotty showers along the immediate southern Atlantic coast.
While the high-pressure system settling over the Southeast this week will start cool due to its origins in southern Canada, strong April sunshine will cause temperatures to gradually rise.
A day-to-day warming trend will develop later this week as the high shifts to the southern Atlantic coast and stalls.
Warmth will build across the Southeast and parts of the Northeast during the second week of April, with some record highs likely to be challenged. However, it will likely fall short of the scope and magnitude of the March heat in the West, explained AccuWeather Lead Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
Temperatures across much of the East will average 8-16 degrees above normal, compared to 15-30 degrees above average in the West during March.
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