Following brief warmup, cold weather set to return to northeastern US
After shattering heat records across the Northeast, the recent warmth will give way to more seasonable chill once more by early next week.
The warmth forced trees in Washington, D.C., to bloom weeks ahead of average.
A storm battering the Plains and Midwest with blizzard conditions will pull colder, more seasonable air through the eastern United States, sparking potentially severe storms and bringing rain through the mid-Atlantic and New England.
Temperatures are expected to drop dramatically from west to east this weekend. The cooldown will be accelerated by gusty northwest winds.
The colder air will cause the last of the rain showers to change over to snow showers around the Great Lakes and central and northern Appalachians Saturday night and Sunday.
While no widespread accumulation is expected, areas impacted by lake-enhanced snow could pick up a few inches of snow on Sunday.
Residents of the northern tier of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and areas in and around Syracuse, New York, are among those who can expect to clear snow off their cars on Monday morning.
“High temperatures in most areas will be 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit lower by the end of the weekend, which will be much closer to average for this time of year,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Thompson.
In Philadelphia, an afternoon high around 70 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday will be sharply contrasted by a high near 50 on Sunday, which is still above the city's average high of 46.
“While this will not be an abnormally cold air mass by February standards, it will be quite a change from the recent record warmth,” Thompson said.
Temperatures will bottom out on Sunday with widespread highs in the 30s and 40s F in store over much of the interior Northeast.
In a repeat of this week the new central Plains storm will pull warm Gulf air into the eastern U.S. during the middle of next week.
Report a Typo
