An intense cold front barreled through the Mid-Atlantic region earlier today and temperatures have dropped sharply from early day highs in the 60’s and should reach the middle 30’s by early-to-mid afternoon. Rain is abundant on the back side of the front and - as colder air becomes better established - a changeover to accumulating snow is going to take place in many of the same areas of the Mid-Atlantic region that experienced 80-degree high temperatures during the past couple of days. Any snow that falls this afternoon will be of the heavy, wet variety and can certainly cling easily to grassy surfaces and potentially on untreated road surfaces.
Over the weekend, another strong cold front will enter the weather picture as it moves to the nation’s midsection with a widespread colder-than-normal air mass on its backside and charging to the south and east. A strong storm system is likely to form along the frontal boundary zone as upper-level support arrives, and the Great Lakes may end up with an all-out blizzard come Sunday night and Monday with plenty of snow and powerful winds. In fact, there can be accumulating snow and strong winds in this same Great Lakes region on Friday from a clipper-system and this would precede the potential late weekend blizzard. The widespread colder-than-normal air mass reaches the eastern states by Monday night and the 20’s and 30’s will be commonplace in the Mid-Atlantic region by the time we get to next Tuesday for afternoon highs...a far cry from the past couple of days.
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An intense cold front will barrel through the region early today and it will result in some dramatic temperature changes and likely lead us to some wet snow. After the record warmth of the past couple of days, a much colder air mass will push into the area this morning and temperatures should plunge to the 30’s by the afternoon hours. Rain will begin the day, but should mix with and then change to snow as temperatures drop sharply and accumulations of a coating to an inch or so are on the table. It stays chilly on Friday and cool to begin the upcoming weekend with generally dry conditions expected on both Friday and Saturday. Another strong cold front will cross the region on Monday accompanied by periods of rain and strong winds and a widespread cold air outbreak arrives on Monday night and Tuesday.
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March is known for some wild swings in the weather, and this one looks like it will not disappoint. Temperatures peaked at record-breaking levels on Tuesday in the Mid-Atlantic region and included the earliest observation of 80 degrees in New York City’s Central Park. Severe weather broke out on Tuesday afternoon and evening across the Upper Midwest with tornadoes reported across parts of Illinois and Indiana and severe thunderstorms will be possible today from the Mid-Atlantic region and Ohio Valley to the Lower Mississippi Valley and again tornadoes will be on the table. A strong cold front pushes through the Mid-Atlantic region early Thursday and there is the chance that rain can mix with or change to snow in parts of the area by the late morning or midday hours following right on the heels of the record-breaking warmth…small accumulations of a coating to an inch or two cannot be ruled out.
Over the weekend, another strong cold front will enter the picture across the nation’s midsection with a widespread colder-than-normal air mass on its backside and charging to the south and east. A strong storm system is likely to form along the frontal boundary zone as upper-level support arrives, and the Great Lakes may end up with an all-out blizzard come late Sunday into Monday with plenty of snow and powerful winds. In fact, there can be accumulating snow and strong winds in this same Great Lakes region on Friday from a clipper-system and this would just be an appetizer for the potential late weekend blizzard. The widespread colder-than-normal air mass reaches the eastern states by late Monday and the 20’s and 30’s will be commonplace in the Mid-Atlantic region by the time we get to next Tuesday for afternoon highs...a far cry from the past couple of days. Looking ahead, as is often the case during the month of March, the early-to-mid week cold snap in the eastern states may change dramatically to much milder conditions by the end of next week and yes, this wild weather pattern can flip again with yet another widespread cold air outbreak later in the month.
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One more day of spring-like temperatures here at mid-week in the Mid-Atlantic region and some record highs may be set in spots as clouds increase ahead of a strong cold front. That strong cold front and a pre-frontal trough can produce showers for the mid-day and early afternoon and then strong-to-severe thunderstorms will be possible later today and early tonight. Much colder air will arrive on Thursday leading to quite a dramatic drop off in temperatures as compared with today’s potential record-breaking warmth. The chilly air will stick around on Friday and the weekend will start off on the cool side with dry conditions likely on both Friday and Saturday. Another strong cold front heads our way for the late Sunday night/Monday time frame with additional showers and thunderstorms possible. A widespread colder-than-normal air mass will then spread into the eastern states by Tuesday of next week on the heels of that next strong cold frontal system.
One final note, it looks like record high temperatures were set yesterday in D.C., Philly and New York City with DCA at 84 degrees, IAD at 85 degrees, BWI at 85 degrees, PHL at 83 degrees, and in Central Park (NYC), it was a record-breaker at 80 degrees and the earliest 80-degrees ever recorded.
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A significant severe weather threat exists for later today and tonight in the region from the southern Plains to the Upper Midwest and this risk which includes possible tornadoes will shift east later tomorrow to an area that extends from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic region. Numerous ingredients are coming together for this severe weather threat including a powerful surface cold front, warm and humid air in place, waves of energy aloft in both the northern and southern jet streams, and an incoming colder-than-normal air mass. After possible record-breaking warmth during the next two days in the Mid-Atlantic region, it’ll turn much cooler for Thursday and Friday following the passage of the strong cold front, and a widespread colder-than-normal air mass will push into the eastern states early next week.
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Spring-like warmth will continue in the Mid-Atlantic region during the next couple of days and there can be record-breaking high temperatures in some spots. A strong cold front will pass through the region from later tomorrow night into Thursday, and it’ll likely be accompanied by occasional rain and a strong thunderstorm is possible as well. Much cooler air pushes in for Thursday and Friday on the heels of the cold frontal passage and it stays on the cool side to begin the weekend. Another strong cold front heads this way for the Sunday night time frame likely with additional showers and possible thunderstorms.
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It took awhile, but the chilly, ocean air that infiltrated our area last week finally retreated this weekend and the next few days will feature much warmer-than-normal weather. The 60’s will be commonplace today for afternoon highs and then the 70’s are likely on Tuesday and Wednesday with a few records possible. The chance of showers and thunderstorms will increase from late Wednesday into Thursday as a strong cold frontal system crosses the region and it turns much cooler for Thursday and Friday.
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An east-to-northeast flow of chilly ocean air will persist into tomorrow keeping a lid on temperatures and resulting in some patchy fog around the area and occasional rain or drizzle. The ocean flow should weaken by later tomorrow and this should allow temperatures to climb to the 50’s on Saturday afternoon and into the 60’s on Sunday…very mild weather early next week.
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The overall weather pattern remains quite active across the continental US, and it is the time of year for thunderstorm activity to become more prevalent compared to recent weeks. In fact, there can be some thunderstorm activity in the Mid-Atlantic region later tonight as a strong upper-level disturbance passes through the area and heavy downpours are on the table. On Friday, there is an enhanced risk of severe weather across the nation’s mid-section including the threat of tornadoes as a strong upper-level trough ejects northeastward from the southwestern states along with its associated powerful jet streak.
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An easterly flow of air has developed around here following the passage of a backdoor cold front which will push off any big-time warmup until this weekend or the early part of next week. Temperatures should hold at normal to slightly below-normal levels during the next couple of days with the development of an oceanic flow of air from the still-chilly waters of the western Atlantic. It remains quite damp as well during the next 48 hours with occasional rain and patchy fog around. On Saturday, the oceanic air mass should retreat to the north and - if this indeed takes place - then temperatures could climb to 60 degrees. It should then be very mild during the early part of next week and a strong front can bring a soaking rainfall to the Mid-Atlantic region during the latter part of next week.
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