Meteorologists warn winter may return to the Northeast
By
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 4, 2020 3:00 PM EST
As maple sugaring season comes to a close in Vermont, Accuweather’s Dexter Henry examines how weather and the coronavirus crisis have affected the production of maple syrup.
After early-spring warmth surges into parts of the East through the middle of the week, winter looks to return ahead of Easter weekend.
A surge of warmth is set to spread from the center of the country to the Northeast into midweek.
Temperatures will top out near 70 in parts of the Ohio Valley on Tuesday, and Washington, D.C. may near 80 degrees F by Wednesday.
"A sharp change in temperature is in store for the eastern half of the country by late week," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo.
A cold front will sweep across the country from Wednesday through Friday, bringing the perception that winter has returned.
Temperatures will fall as much as 10 to 20 degrees in just 24 hours.
Afternoon high temperatures will be in the upper 40s or lower 50s by Thursday in cities like Detroit and Cleveland, near or slightly below normal for early April.
The cooldown will wait to settle into the I-95 cities until Friday.
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The dramatic clash of warm and cold air will bring the chance for some thunderstorms to erupt from the Ohio Valley to the I-95 corridor as the cold front swings through.
Behind the rain will be the push of colder air, and the potential for wintry precipitation.
"As has been the case for much of the winter and early spring snowstorms this season, the best chance for snow will be across northern New England," said AccuWeather Chief Video Meteorologist Bernie Rayno.
How long precipitation lingers behind the front and how quickly the cold air filters in behind the front, will determine if snow falls in places like central New York and western Pennsylvania. Should the precipitation move through quickly, areas in these states may miss out on snow entirely.
Even non-paved surfaces will be quite warm the days leading up to the storm, making it difficult for larger accumulations outside of New England. The exception will be in higher elevations.
In northern New England, those going to the grocery store could run into slippery spots on a few roads.
It's possible for blizzard conditions to develop across Maine late in the week as the storm strengthens off the coast.
Behind the cold front, stiff, cold winds will sweep across the Great Lakes. This will help to generate lake-effect rain or snow showers Friday.
The winds are likely to be strong enough to lead to isolated power outages as well as lakeshore flooding. In addition, they can cause a particular threat to places where COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites are in operation and especially to overwhelmed hospitals that may have tents set up outdoors to treat patients.
Colder-than normal conditions are likely to linger across the Northeast through Easter weekend, as well as across the Midwest and Southeast.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Meteorologists warn winter may return to the Northeast
By Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 4, 2020 3:00 PM EST
As maple sugaring season comes to a close in Vermont, Accuweather’s Dexter Henry examines how weather and the coronavirus crisis have affected the production of maple syrup.
After early-spring warmth surges into parts of the East through the middle of the week, winter looks to return ahead of Easter weekend.
A surge of warmth is set to spread from the center of the country to the Northeast into midweek.
Temperatures will top out near 70 in parts of the Ohio Valley on Tuesday, and Washington, D.C. may near 80 degrees F by Wednesday.
"A sharp change in temperature is in store for the eastern half of the country by late week," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo.
A cold front will sweep across the country from Wednesday through Friday, bringing the perception that winter has returned.
Temperatures will fall as much as 10 to 20 degrees in just 24 hours.
Afternoon high temperatures will be in the upper 40s or lower 50s by Thursday in cities like Detroit and Cleveland, near or slightly below normal for early April.
The cooldown will wait to settle into the I-95 cities until Friday.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The dramatic clash of warm and cold air will bring the chance for some thunderstorms to erupt from the Ohio Valley to the I-95 corridor as the cold front swings through.
Behind the rain will be the push of colder air, and the potential for wintry precipitation.
"As has been the case for much of the winter and early spring snowstorms this season, the best chance for snow will be across northern New England," said AccuWeather Chief Video Meteorologist Bernie Rayno.
How long precipitation lingers behind the front and how quickly the cold air filters in behind the front, will determine if snow falls in places like central New York and western Pennsylvania. Should the precipitation move through quickly, areas in these states may miss out on snow entirely.
Even non-paved surfaces will be quite warm the days leading up to the storm, making it difficult for larger accumulations outside of New England. The exception will be in higher elevations.
Related:
In northern New England, those going to the grocery store could run into slippery spots on a few roads.
It's possible for blizzard conditions to develop across Maine late in the week as the storm strengthens off the coast.
Behind the cold front, stiff, cold winds will sweep across the Great Lakes. This will help to generate lake-effect rain or snow showers Friday.
The winds are likely to be strong enough to lead to isolated power outages as well as lakeshore flooding. In addition, they can cause a particular threat to places where COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites are in operation and especially to overwhelmed hospitals that may have tents set up outdoors to treat patients.
Colder-than normal conditions are likely to linger across the Northeast through Easter weekend, as well as across the Midwest and Southeast.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo