Spring fever to be followed by March cold weather reality check in Northeast
A man and his dog jumped into an icy pond in Yonkers, New York, to rescue two dogs that had fallen through the ice.
A bomb cyclone over the Central states will help to first pump warmer air into the northeastern United States into Friday, before sending another shot of cold air eastward this weekend into next week.
March is famous for dramatic temperature swings and powerful storms. While the Northeast will be spared a powerful storm like that of 1993, a temperature roller coaster is in store over the next several days.
Temperatures in parts of the Northeast may be 50 degrees Fahrenheit higher to end the week, when compared to morning low temperatures from Wednesday.
In northern New England, temperatures started Wednesday within a few degrees of zero, but they may reach close to 50 degrees on Friday afternoon and evening.
There is a substantial amount of snow on the ground, mainly across northern New York state and northern New England.
Surging temperatures with a quickening wind and some rain thrown in will raise the risk of urban and small stream flooding as well as ice jam flooding spanning Friday to Saturday over the northern tier and in some of the mountains.
The rain will be produced by an eastward extension of the big storm over the Central states. Rain and spotty thunderstorms are forecast to pivot through the region mainly during Friday and Friday night.
As the big storm races across northern Quebec, Canada, early this weekend, it will be in position to funnel progressively colder air southeastward across the region.
Temperatures will trend to normal early this weekend then dip below average levels late this weekend to multiple days next week.
For example, the average high for New York City is near 50 degrees during the middle of March. Highs during several days of next week will be in the middle 40s. Throw in some wind at times, and AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures can dip into the 30s and 20s on occasion.
High temperatures across the central Appalachians will generally be in the 30s, on average. Highs across northern New England may be 15-20 degrees colder than New York City, which would mean highs mainly in the 20s.
Just as the region is not done with cold weather for the season, there may still be some pokes from Old Man Winter in the precipitation department as well.
"While the overall weather across the U.S. this weekend will be free from major storms, there may yet an opportunity or two for wet snow in part of the Northeast during the last couple of weeks of March," according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
However, snow events during the latter half of March and early April tend to be progressively smaller in scale and much less long-lasting.
"Despite the colder weather coming back, during clear days, the strong March sun will negate the chill during the midday and afternoon hours," Pastelok said.
The worst part of the weather pattern for next week for warm weather fans may be the cold nights and frosty mornings.
Some nights next week will bring a return of single-digit lows in northern New England and below-freezing early-morning air as far south as Virginia.
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the temperature swings forecast for your area over the next week.
