Northeast to cycle between deluges, dry air following summerlike warmth
While not the chilly, rainy weather of late May, or the dry, warm weather of early June, the Northeast will flip back and forth between nice weather and drenching storms into mid-month.
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The warmest air since last September will be replaced by a familiar refrain in the Northeast: rounds of showers and thunderstorms, some of which can pack a punch into next week. In between rainy episodes, however, there will be a period of nicer weather over the weekend for many, say AccuWeather meteorologists.
The topsy-turvy weather pattern in the Northeast, which is typical in the late spring timeframe, was first marked by rounds of chilly rain during the second half of May, then a period of dry weather with a dramatic warm up in early June. The weather over the next several days will fall somewhere in between.
The warm spell will end with a bang
The season's first significant warmup enveloped the East during the first week of June, as the mercury soared well into the 80s to around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. But the pool weather will switch back to sweatshirt weather before long.
"It will get cool enough to keep some folks from venturing to the local pool or lake," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill of the cooler weather expected to arrive this weekend.
In advance of that cooldown, thunderstorms will rumble along and ahead of a cold front through Friday evening. Some of those storms could turn severe, packing strong, gusty winds and even some small hailstones. With school ending and community or backyard pools open for the season, swimmers may have to briefly safe shelter as storms roll through.
By Friday night and Saturday morning, drier and cooler air will arrive in the eastern Great Lakes and parts of the interior Northeast. In New England and along the mid-Atlantic coast, it will take until late Saturday for storms to exit offshore.
Temperatures that were up to 10 degrees above historical averages will dip to about 5 degrees below average, a daytime swing of 15 degrees. At night, low temperatures could drop into the 50s for a few mornings into next week thanks to lowering humidity.
In most areas, the growing season is well underway and will not be interrupted by this cool snap.
"Unlike the recent cool spell at the end of May, this one will not produce a frost in the Great Lakes, northern Mid-Atlantic or Northeast," added Merrill.
Wet and stormy weather slated to return quickly next week
The rain-free weather accompanying the cool, less humid weather will not have the staying pattern of the dry spell that started June. AccuWeather meteorologists say that showers and thunderstorms can return to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast as early as the end of the weekend.
On Sunday, a new storm packed with moisture is forecast to approach from the nation's midsection, first arriving in the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic, then spreading into the rest of the Northeast to start the workweek on Monday.
Unlike during the storminess in late May, the wind direction for much of the rainy period early next week will be out of the south and west, rather than the north or east, so the air will not be as chilly. Still, the wet weather can ruin some outdoor plans for a few days and may also act to pull in some wildfire smoke from Canada in between rainy spells.
After the consistent rains of May, the rain is no longer needed in most areas. Since the beginning of April, the area covered by drought conditions in the Northeast went from nearly 25 percent to less than 1 percent, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor.
For those pining to get back in the pool or ocean, they may not have to wait long.
"There are signs that point to the same high pressure producing record heat in the Northwest will arrive in the East by the end of next week," said Merrill. "This would allow the temperature pattern to flip-flop with much above average temperatures returning to the region."
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