Spring Warmth to Make Short Visit to the Northeast by Late Week

By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

March 31,2015; 8:09PM,EDT

 

 

While portions of the mid-Atlantic have enjoyed a day or two of spring warmth in March, most of New York state and New England will finally break out of the persistent winter chill.
Residents will have the opportunity to keep their jackets in the closet and break out the shorts and t-shirts as a surge of warmer air moves in, but only for a short time.
According to AccuWeather.com meteorologist Steve Travis, "Winds will shift out of the south and advect warmer air from the Gulf of Mexico into the region for the second half of the week."
Some locations across the Northeast may experience their warmest weather since last autumn or Christmas Day including Pittsburgh and State College, Pennsylvania; Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse, New York; and Hartford, Connecticut.

Temperatures on Thursday will range from the 40s across northern New England to the 50s across central New York state and southern New England to the 60s across western New York, Pennsylvania and along the Interstate 95 corridor from New York to Baltimore and the 70s around Washington, D.C. and southern Pennsylvania.
Northern Maine will remain the cool spot with temperatures only in the 30s on Thursday, but will rise into the 40s on Friday.

With the warm air in place, a storm system will move into the region towards the end of the week with showers and a couple of thunderstorms. There is still some disagreement with the timing of this system.
If the storm system moves quicker into the region, temperatures could run lower than currently expected. However, if the storm tracks slower, temperatures could be even higher.
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Cooler air will build in behind this storm for the Easter weekend. A return to jeans and jackets will be needed.
"Chilly air will return just in time for Easter, as temperatures will run below normal over the weekend" Travis said.
This next shot of cool air may be short-lived as another surge of warmer air is possible for early next week.