Winterlike weather pattern tightens grip on Northeast, unloading snow in some areas

Winter is making a mid-May comeback in the northeastern United States early this week as snow returned to some areas with cold and rainy weather in other parts of the region.

The same storm that brought several rounds of severe weather and flooding rainfall to the south-central U.S. last week is bringing downright raw weather to the Northeast.

Mother’s Day turned out to be a washout in much of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England, with rain and drizzle accompanying temperatures more typical of mid-March than the middle of May.

The air was even cold enough for snow to whiten the Catskill Mountains in southeastern New York and the Berkshires in western Massachusetts.

Slushy and slippery spots along the Massachusetts Turnpike in the Berkshires prompted officials to dramatically reduce the speed limit on Sunday. The trace of snow that fell in Albany, New York, on Sunday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, was the latest snow to fall on a Mother's Day since 1977, when Mother's Day occurred on May 8.

The cold, wet weather made its presence felt in the Big Apple too. A record low temperature of 43 degrees Fahrenheit was set at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Sunday, tying the old record of 43 F set in 1963, according to the NWS. Another record-breaking stat was observed Sunday at JFK Airport, as well, as the NWS New York office reported 1.07 inches of rainfall. This surpassed the previous record of 1 inch that was set in 2006.

On Monday, LaGaurdia Airport set a record low of 42 F for May 13, breaking the previous low mark of 45 F set in 1998, the NWS reported. Official New York City weather records are kept according to stats recorded in Central Park. The temperature in New York City on Monday afternoon hovered in the mid to upper 40s, a reading more typical of St. Patrick's Day or Thanksgiving.

Relief from the miserable weather will not come until the middle of the week.

High temperatures through Tuesday will be no better than the lower 50s F in Boston and New York City, upper 50s in Philadelphia and lower 60s in Washington, D.C.

"Highs can be stuck in the 40s F from central and northeastern Pennsylvania to New York state (away from New York City) and parts of southern New England," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.

"Many places may challenge records for the lowest high temperature of the day from Pennsylvania to Maine early this week," added AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines.

Cloudy, damp, dreary and brisk conditions will cause AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures to be stuck in the 40s along the Interstate-95 corridor through Tuesday and in the 30s across interior regions.

A large area of high pressure that originated from northern Canada is driving the cold, Canadian air southward into the Northeast.

“At the same time, a buckle in the jet stream will slow the west-to-east progression of the storm system bringing the soggy weather through early week,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

Following Sunday's soaker, another storm formed near the mid-Atlantic coast on Monday and will push more rain into New England through Tuesday.

An additional 0.50 of an inch to 1 inch of rain will be possible from this system across eastern New England.

"This storm will bring snow or a mix of rain and snow to the mountainous terrain of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine," Pydynowski said.

A snowfall of 1-4 inches occurred at elevations upwards of 1,500 feet with Killington, Vermont, reporting 8 inches of snow at an elevation of 3,400 feet as of Tuesday morning.

"While the highest snow amounts will be measured on grassy and elevated surfaces, some roads and sidewalks can still be slippery," Pydynowski added.

"All rain is expected along the Interstate-95 corridor from Portland, Maine, and points southward, but it can be a different story farther to the north," according to Pydynowski.

Although the steadiest precipitation on Tuesday will fall in northern New England, cloudy and showery weather is still forecast to hang on across the rest of the Northeast.

It is not until Tuesday night and Wednesday that dry weather will return to the Northeast as the storm system gets kicked farther out to sea.

In the wake of the storm system, Sosnowski warned that there may be the risk of some frost in the normally colder spots where the sky becomes clear during Tuesday night.

This risk is greatest from part of northwestern Pennsylvania to western and perhaps central New York state.

Unfortunately, the unsettled weather pattern may return later this week as a battleground zone between lingering cold across eastern Canada and building warmth across the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic sets up across the Northeast.

Download the free AccuWeather app to receive flood alerts on your mobile device. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo