12:20 PM (Thursday) | *Another unusually cold night in the Mid-Atlantic region…rain event coming from late Saturday into early Sunday…big time warm up later next week with 80+ degrees on the table*
Paul Dorian
Widespread cold this morning resulted in record or near record lows from the Rockies to the eastern seaboard. Map courtesy coolwx.com, NOAA
Overview
Temperatures dropped to the freezing mark in many spots along the I-95 corridor region of the Mid-Atlantic earlier this morning and there will be one more unusually cold night to deal with in the DC, Philly and NYC metro regions. The abnormal cold this morning was widespread across the nation with record or near record lows extending from the eastern seaboard to the Rocky Mountain States. There will be a noticeable modification in temperatures on Friday in the Mid-Atlantic and the weekend should turn out to be seasonably mild, but rain will dampen the scene from late Saturday into early Sunday. Looking ahead, a big time warm up is coming to the eastern US later next week and 80+ degrees will be on the table in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Colder-than-normal conditions will continue in the eastern states into Friday, but big changes are coming later next week. Map courtesy NOAA, tropicaltidbits.com
Details
Temperatures plunged into the lower 30’s in the overnight hours all the way into the immediate I-95 corridor and some spots even received enough snow shower activity to result in a dusting of snow. Some examples of the low temperatures observed this morning in the Mid-Atlantic region include 32 degrees at Allentown, PA and Sussex, NJ, 35 degrees at Philadelphia, PA and Atlantic City, NJ, and 34 degrees at New Brunswick, NJ and at BWI Airport which was just two degrees off the record of 32 degrees for the city of Baltimore which was recorded all the way back in 1875. Scattered snow showers are occurring today across parts of the Mid-Atlantic (e.g., south-central PA, northern part of the Delmarva Peninsula) and just about anyone can see some flakes during the mid-day and afternoon hours. The combination of the chill and gusty winds is making it feel much more like early March rather than late April. There will be one more cold night in the Mid-Atlantic region with many areas dropping back into the lower 30’s by early Friday and patchy frost is possible - all of which is a concern when it comes to potential damage to sensitive vegetation. Temperatures will modify on Friday afternoon after a chilly start to the day and sunshine should help to produce afternoon highs in the 60’s in the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor.
A decent rain event is coming to the Mid-Atlantic/NE US from late Saturday into Sunday with 0.50 - 1.00 inches on the table as low pressure pulls out of the south-central states and heads to the northeast. Map courtesy NOAA, tropicaltidbits.com
The weekend will start off with seasonably mild conditions and clouds will thicken up as we progress through the day on Saturday as low pressure pushes northeastward from the south-central states. Rain is likely to break out in the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor late Saturday or early Saturday night and continue into Sunday morning before some clearing sets in to close out the weekend. Following the departure of the low pressure system, a cool air mass will push in for Sunday night and Monday, but then the overall weather pattern will change dramatically in the eastern states.
A big time warm up is coming to the Mid-Atlantic/NE US for the middle and latter parts of next week with 80+ degrees definitely on the table. Map courtesy NOAA, tropicaltidbits.com
Strong high pressure ridging will build into the eastern US early next week and surface temperatures will respond in a big way. In fact, highs in the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor should be up in the 70’s by Tuesday afternoon and 80+ degrees is definitely on the table for the middle and latter parts of next week. There may be a bit of a cool down at the end of next week or during the following weekend, but it is hard to imagine a scenario in which the immediate I-95 corridor returns to the freezing mark as experienced late last night and likely will again late tonight.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Perspecta, Inc.
perspectaweather.com