Snow, cold making a comeback in Northeast
By
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Mar 26, 2022 1:31 PM EDT
|
Updated Mar 27, 2022 3:05 PM EDT
The winter is almost over, and spring is around the corner. But is your home ready for spring storms? Prevent water from entering your home with these tips.
Biting winds and snow showers have made the last weekend of March look and feel more like February in the Northeast as winter returns with a vengeance. AccuWeather meteorologists say the clock is ticking on the wintry weather, however, with the cold expected to ease up during the last days of the month.
The majority of the month of March has averaged more on the mild side across portions of the Great Lakes and Northeast. As of March 25, Philadelphia, averaged temperatures of 6.5 F degrees above normal, with cities like Buffalo, New York, to Washington, D.C., registering more than 5 degrees above normal.
Following stretches of milder conditions, cold air from Canada is expected to settle across the Great Lakes and the Northeast into Monday bringing the return to a more wintry feel.
"Conditions over the next few days will be reminiscent of mid-January," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Randy Adkins.
The wave of cold is, in part, thanks to the polar vortex, which AccuWeather Long-Range meteorologists correctly predicted about a week ago.
Rain and snow showers started to dot the region on Saturday, coupled with a chilly, gusty wind. By the start of Saturday night, rain and snow showers had expended into portions of New England.
The wind can continue to take a normal rain or snow shower and quickly bring reduced visibility for travelers into Sunday evening.
As temperatures fell more rapidly on Saturday night across the region, much of the precipitation changed over to snow, allowing for accumulations across the Great Lakes and interior portions of the Northeast.
Snow is expected to continue accumulating into Sunday night, allowing for, several inches of snow to pile up in locations downwind of the Great Lakes and in the higher elevations of New England, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 18 inches.
Give the recent spell of warmer conditions, snow accumulations are forecast to be highest on non-paved surfaces. However, even a small accumulation of snow on the roads can make for tricky travel conditions.
Milder conditions are forecast closer to the Atlantic Coast, keeping precipitation as rain. However, a few wet snowflakes mixed in with rain showers are not out of the question in parts of the I-95 corridor through Sunday evening.
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Cloud cover and a breeze may prevent the temperature from plunging to mid-winter levels at night, but the temperature is forecast to dip below freezing over much of the region, including in many of the major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor early next week.
After starting off the day on Sunday morning, temperatures are forecast to be in the 20s F for cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, temperatures are expect to drop even farther, into the teens, on Monday morning.
Farther east, in places like Boston, New York City and Philadelphia, temperatures are likely fall into the lower to middle 20s for Monday and Tuesday mornings. As a whole, low temperatures through early Tuesday could be as much as 10 to 20 degrees below normal for late March.
“Not only will the air temperature be well below average through early this week, winds will be quite gusty as well and make it feel even more jarring to those who have grown accustomed to milder weather in recent weeks,” Adkins said.
In the afternoons, temperatures will be able to recover rather quickly, thanks to some stronger late-March sunshine. But with clouds and the cold start, high temperatures on Monday are forecast to stay in the 30s from Pittsburgh to Boston. In these areas, normal high temperatures at the end of March are near 50 to the middle 50s.
People who have started outdoor gardens may need to cover tender plants, and meteorologists caution that potted plants should be brought indoors.
For residents viewing the wave of cold and snow as unwelcome, AccuWeather forecasters say that improving weather conditions are not far away.
"The good news is that this cold snap will not be the beginning of a prolonged cold wave; temperatures are expected to return to average, or even a few degrees above, across the region by the turn of the month," explained Adkins.
As the big dip in the jet stream pivots northeastward during the middle of next week, a warmup is in store for the region which may allow temperatures to swing above average for a few days.
However, more abnormally cold air may return in early April.
"Looking at long-range weather patterns across the globe, there is support for another big dip in the jet stream in the Northeast in the first week of April," said AccuWeather's Long Range Expert Paul Pastelok.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Winter Weather
Snow, cold making a comeback in Northeast
By Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Mar 26, 2022 1:31 PM EDT | Updated Mar 27, 2022 3:05 PM EDT
The winter is almost over, and spring is around the corner. But is your home ready for spring storms? Prevent water from entering your home with these tips.
Biting winds and snow showers have made the last weekend of March look and feel more like February in the Northeast as winter returns with a vengeance. AccuWeather meteorologists say the clock is ticking on the wintry weather, however, with the cold expected to ease up during the last days of the month.
The majority of the month of March has averaged more on the mild side across portions of the Great Lakes and Northeast. As of March 25, Philadelphia, averaged temperatures of 6.5 F degrees above normal, with cities like Buffalo, New York, to Washington, D.C., registering more than 5 degrees above normal.
Following stretches of milder conditions, cold air from Canada is expected to settle across the Great Lakes and the Northeast into Monday bringing the return to a more wintry feel.
"Conditions over the next few days will be reminiscent of mid-January," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Randy Adkins.
The wave of cold is, in part, thanks to the polar vortex, which AccuWeather Long-Range meteorologists correctly predicted about a week ago.
Rain and snow showers started to dot the region on Saturday, coupled with a chilly, gusty wind. By the start of Saturday night, rain and snow showers had expended into portions of New England.
The wind can continue to take a normal rain or snow shower and quickly bring reduced visibility for travelers into Sunday evening.
As temperatures fell more rapidly on Saturday night across the region, much of the precipitation changed over to snow, allowing for accumulations across the Great Lakes and interior portions of the Northeast.
Snow is expected to continue accumulating into Sunday night, allowing for, several inches of snow to pile up in locations downwind of the Great Lakes and in the higher elevations of New England, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 18 inches.
Give the recent spell of warmer conditions, snow accumulations are forecast to be highest on non-paved surfaces. However, even a small accumulation of snow on the roads can make for tricky travel conditions.
Milder conditions are forecast closer to the Atlantic Coast, keeping precipitation as rain. However, a few wet snowflakes mixed in with rain showers are not out of the question in parts of the I-95 corridor through Sunday evening.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Cloud cover and a breeze may prevent the temperature from plunging to mid-winter levels at night, but the temperature is forecast to dip below freezing over much of the region, including in many of the major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor early next week.
After starting off the day on Sunday morning, temperatures are forecast to be in the 20s F for cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, temperatures are expect to drop even farther, into the teens, on Monday morning.
Farther east, in places like Boston, New York City and Philadelphia, temperatures are likely fall into the lower to middle 20s for Monday and Tuesday mornings. As a whole, low temperatures through early Tuesday could be as much as 10 to 20 degrees below normal for late March.
“Not only will the air temperature be well below average through early this week, winds will be quite gusty as well and make it feel even more jarring to those who have grown accustomed to milder weather in recent weeks,” Adkins said.
In the afternoons, temperatures will be able to recover rather quickly, thanks to some stronger late-March sunshine. But with clouds and the cold start, high temperatures on Monday are forecast to stay in the 30s from Pittsburgh to Boston. In these areas, normal high temperatures at the end of March are near 50 to the middle 50s.
People who have started outdoor gardens may need to cover tender plants, and meteorologists caution that potted plants should be brought indoors.
For residents viewing the wave of cold and snow as unwelcome, AccuWeather forecasters say that improving weather conditions are not far away.
"The good news is that this cold snap will not be the beginning of a prolonged cold wave; temperatures are expected to return to average, or even a few degrees above, across the region by the turn of the month," explained Adkins.
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As the big dip in the jet stream pivots northeastward during the middle of next week, a warmup is in store for the region which may allow temperatures to swing above average for a few days.
However, more abnormally cold air may return in early April.
"Looking at long-range weather patterns across the globe, there is support for another big dip in the jet stream in the Northeast in the first week of April," said AccuWeather's Long Range Expert Paul Pastelok.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo