Winterlike chill to close out April in Northeast
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 25, 2022 12:03 PM EDT
|
Updated Apr 26, 2022 3:56 PM EDT
As has been the case so often this spring, another blast of chilly air is on the way for the northeastern United States just when many residents may have been hoping that warmth would fully take over. AccuWeather meteorologists say this pattern change will allow snowflakes to fly once again over the interior parts of the region.
"After dealing with some wintry cold and snow in places last week, another shot of unseasonably chilly air is heading to the Great Lakes and Northeast for the last days of April that will make it feel more like early March or even late February again," AccuWeather Meteorologist Dean DeVore said.
The wheels of change were already in motion at the start of the week over the North Central states as a southward dip in the jet stream ushered in colder air.
After temperatures surged into the 80s F in Omaha, Nebraska, and Chicago over the weekend, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures hovered in the 20s, 30s and 40s Monday. The air responsible for those low temperatures is heading eastward, forecasters say.
As a storm moves northward along the Atlantic coast, the system will draw in the chilly air across the Northeast Tuesday night and Wednesday.
The most dramatic temperature plunge will occur from the spine of the Appalachians to the eastern Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley where daytime temperatures will drop about 40 degrees from Monday to Wednesday.
In Pittsburgh, where highs settled in the lower 80s from Saturday through Monday, temperatures were no better than the mid-50s on Tuesday and may struggle to reach the low 40s Wednesday, forecasters say. In Jamestown, New York, following a high well into the 70s Monday, a high in the low 30s is anticipated at midweek.
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Farther east, a long-lasting push of cool ocean air kept higher temperatures at bay from New England to much of the mid-Atlantic region fro Saturday to Monday. Temperatures will rebound ahead of the chilly push from the Midwest Tuesday, but that warming trend will be brief.
The warm surge allowed temperatures to spike well into 70s from southern New Jersey to Virginia on Tuesday, but temperatures will decline 5-15 degrees Wednesday in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City with highs mainly in the 50s.
However, while the temperature dip along the Atlantic coast may not seem all that drastic, brisk winds will make up for it. RealFeel® temperatures will be 15-25 degrees lower than the actual temperature at times, especially in the shade and during the evening hours when the sun is lower in the sky. In New York City, the AccuWeather RealFeel Shade™ Temperature will be in the 40s at midday Wednesday. Across the interior Northeast to the Great Lakes region, RealFeel temperatures can dip into the 20s at times, even when the sun is out.
The air will turn cold enough to allow some wet snowflakes to fly across the mountains in western and northern Pennsylvania, as well as low-elevation areas in western and central New York and southern Ontario Wednesday. An accumulation of 1-3 inches is likely to be limited to non-paved surfaces over the highest terrain in the region. A general 3-6 inches of rain with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches is in store for northern Maine.
"While the cold push doesn’t look like it will produce widespread accumulating snow, it will bring enough cold air to be of concern for flowers, fruit trees, vines and bushes, where the recent warmth has caused buds to push out and blossom," DeVore said.
Some of the snow showers that pivot from southern Ontario to northeastern Ohio, northern and western Pennsylvania and western New York can be robust enough to bring a drastic and sudden drop in visibility. Such conditions can create hazards on major highways such as interstates 79, 80, 86 and 90.
People who planted annual flowers and vegetables this past weekend will need to protect their investment. Garden centers may need to cover or move their sensitive stock indoors. In many cases, the average last frost date is still a few weeks away.
The chilly air will not be in a hurry to leave as some of the lowest temperatures are likely to occur from Wednesday night to Saturday night. A frost and/or freeze will be likely from the Great Lakes to the central Appalachians and even into rural and suburban locations outside of the major I-95 metro areas.
A breeze during the middle to latter parts of the week may be enough to prevent a widespread damaging frost in the Northeast, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz. However, a clear sky and light winds at night could allow temperatures to plummet outside of the major coastal cities later this week and into the weekend, he added.
Upcoming frosts and freezes potentially could be damaging to some sensitive vegetation later this week. Closed buds, such as on this apple tree are somewhat protected, but open blossoms are fully exposed and at the greatest risk of damage. (Photo/Alex Sosnowski)
As if the chill during the last days of April was not enough, another dose of chilly air with perhaps some wet snowflakes for the higher terrain of the Northeast may follow in early May, according to AccuWeather's team of long-range forecasters.
The lingering chill in the Northeast is something that AccuWeather forecasters predicted back in their annual U.S. spring forecast, which was released in early February. For those already looking ahead to summer, AccuWeather’s U.S. summer forecast will be released this Wednesday, April 27.
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
Winterlike chill to close out April in Northeast
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 25, 2022 12:03 PM EDT | Updated Apr 26, 2022 3:56 PM EDT
As has been the case so often this spring, another blast of chilly air is on the way for the northeastern United States just when many residents may have been hoping that warmth would fully take over. AccuWeather meteorologists say this pattern change will allow snowflakes to fly once again over the interior parts of the region.
"After dealing with some wintry cold and snow in places last week, another shot of unseasonably chilly air is heading to the Great Lakes and Northeast for the last days of April that will make it feel more like early March or even late February again," AccuWeather Meteorologist Dean DeVore said.
The wheels of change were already in motion at the start of the week over the North Central states as a southward dip in the jet stream ushered in colder air.
After temperatures surged into the 80s F in Omaha, Nebraska, and Chicago over the weekend, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures hovered in the 20s, 30s and 40s Monday. The air responsible for those low temperatures is heading eastward, forecasters say.
As a storm moves northward along the Atlantic coast, the system will draw in the chilly air across the Northeast Tuesday night and Wednesday.
The most dramatic temperature plunge will occur from the spine of the Appalachians to the eastern Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley where daytime temperatures will drop about 40 degrees from Monday to Wednesday.
In Pittsburgh, where highs settled in the lower 80s from Saturday through Monday, temperatures were no better than the mid-50s on Tuesday and may struggle to reach the low 40s Wednesday, forecasters say. In Jamestown, New York, following a high well into the 70s Monday, a high in the low 30s is anticipated at midweek.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Farther east, a long-lasting push of cool ocean air kept higher temperatures at bay from New England to much of the mid-Atlantic region fro Saturday to Monday. Temperatures will rebound ahead of the chilly push from the Midwest Tuesday, but that warming trend will be brief.
The warm surge allowed temperatures to spike well into 70s from southern New Jersey to Virginia on Tuesday, but temperatures will decline 5-15 degrees Wednesday in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City with highs mainly in the 50s.
However, while the temperature dip along the Atlantic coast may not seem all that drastic, brisk winds will make up for it. RealFeel® temperatures will be 15-25 degrees lower than the actual temperature at times, especially in the shade and during the evening hours when the sun is lower in the sky. In New York City, the AccuWeather RealFeel Shade™ Temperature will be in the 40s at midday Wednesday. Across the interior Northeast to the Great Lakes region, RealFeel temperatures can dip into the 20s at times, even when the sun is out.
The air will turn cold enough to allow some wet snowflakes to fly across the mountains in western and northern Pennsylvania, as well as low-elevation areas in western and central New York and southern Ontario Wednesday. An accumulation of 1-3 inches is likely to be limited to non-paved surfaces over the highest terrain in the region. A general 3-6 inches of rain with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches is in store for northern Maine.
"While the cold push doesn’t look like it will produce widespread accumulating snow, it will bring enough cold air to be of concern for flowers, fruit trees, vines and bushes, where the recent warmth has caused buds to push out and blossom," DeVore said.
Some of the snow showers that pivot from southern Ontario to northeastern Ohio, northern and western Pennsylvania and western New York can be robust enough to bring a drastic and sudden drop in visibility. Such conditions can create hazards on major highways such as interstates 79, 80, 86 and 90.
People who planted annual flowers and vegetables this past weekend will need to protect their investment. Garden centers may need to cover or move their sensitive stock indoors. In many cases, the average last frost date is still a few weeks away.
The chilly air will not be in a hurry to leave as some of the lowest temperatures are likely to occur from Wednesday night to Saturday night. A frost and/or freeze will be likely from the Great Lakes to the central Appalachians and even into rural and suburban locations outside of the major I-95 metro areas.
A breeze during the middle to latter parts of the week may be enough to prevent a widespread damaging frost in the Northeast, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz. However, a clear sky and light winds at night could allow temperatures to plummet outside of the major coastal cities later this week and into the weekend, he added.
Upcoming frosts and freezes potentially could be damaging to some sensitive vegetation later this week. Closed buds, such as on this apple tree are somewhat protected, but open blossoms are fully exposed and at the greatest risk of damage. (Photo/Alex Sosnowski)
As if the chill during the last days of April was not enough, another dose of chilly air with perhaps some wet snowflakes for the higher terrain of the Northeast may follow in early May, according to AccuWeather's team of long-range forecasters.
The lingering chill in the Northeast is something that AccuWeather forecasters predicted back in their annual U.S. spring forecast, which was released in early February. For those already looking ahead to summer, AccuWeather’s U.S. summer forecast will be released this Wednesday, April 27.
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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