By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist
March 16,2015; 9:37PM,EDT
After a spike in temperature on Monday, much colder air will sweep across the Midwest and Northeast through the middle of the week.
In the wake of a cold front, temperatures will be slashed by 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit during Tuesday and Wednesday, following above-average to record warmth from Monday.
The first wave of colder air will sweep from Minneapolis and Chicago to New York City and Washington, D.C.
Astronomical spring officially arrives on Friday, March 20, at 6:45 p.m. EDT (5:45 p.m. CDT).
According to AccuWeather.com Long Range Meteorologist Mark Paquette, "While there could be a day or two of warmth ahead of any cold front, the weather pattern is not favoring any sustained warmth across the East into April."
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Below-average temperatures are likely to outnumber warmer-than-average days by at least two to one from the Upper Midwest to the Northeast through early April. From portions of the Plains to the middle Mississippi Valley and the interior South, the waves of chilly air will be much less frequent and not as long-lasting.
The pattern will make it uncomfortable for outdoor sports that typically ramp up early in the spring, such as golf, baseball, soccer, fishing and track and field.
While the chilly weather will continue to be a strain on the heating budget, the upcoming pattern will limit the risk of flooding in the Northeast in the absence of heavy rain. The chilly weather will slow the rate of melting snow and the runoff by bringing nights below freezing and days above freezing.
Melting snow and rounds of heavy rain have caused flooding on the Ohio River Basin and were causing water levels to rise on the lower Mississippi River.
While the pattern is going back to what occurred during much of the winter with warmth dominating the West and colder air pouring into the East, longer daylight hours and strengthening sunshine will negate some of the chill.
Many ski resorts are likely to remain open through Easter weekend in the Northeast.
Along with the chill, the upcoming pattern may create opportunities for late-season snow.
A storm forecast to travel slowly across the South this week could turn up the Atlantic coast on Friday into Saturday and will raise the risk of wet snow or a wintry mix in parts of the mid-Atlantic and New England as spring arrives.
The track and strength of that storm will determine which areas receive snow versus rain versus no precipitation.
AccuWeather.com will provide updates on the potential wintry storm as the week progresses.
- Kevin Privinik · Top Commenter · Cleveland, OhioPlease tell us something we alredy don't know! Well I guess I will at least get to enjoy the sun and the heat when I go on vacation to south California this week and part of next week. By the time I get back home, maybe I wll read some better news for us here in the east.
- Aaron Ginther · Top Commenter · Lynchburg, VirginiaI'm going to the Outer Banks in early April. But since it's North Carolina (and not Florida or So.Cal) if we take a drive out to the beach, swimming is obviously not an option this early in the year. I just checked the water temperatures and they're currently in the 40's. And when there's a cold front winds will usually pick up and you'll have chilly temperatures combined with a wind chill.
- Paul Bonaldi · Top Commenter · Yale UniversityTHIS WEATHER SUCKS,,,,,,, WE BETTER HAVE A H O T SUMMER!
- Michael Johnson · Top Commenter · Nashville, Tennessee
- David Kotowski · Top Commenter · Messenger/Clerk, Buildings & Grounds at County of HudsonCompletely fed up with this cold weather! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
- Ice Fishing 24/7I may be ice fishing in April this year WHOOO HOOO! NEPA
- Joshua Wade · Follow · Owensboro, KentuckySo spring's coming extremely late again, for the third year in a row? Is there any way next February will be any milder than this February? I'm afraid a similarly cold and late start to spring will likely happen again for the FOURTH year in a row.
- Kevin Privinik · Top Commenter · Cleveland, Ohio
- Joshua Wade · Follow · Owensboro, KentuckyKevin Privinik True, 1978 was the only year in the late-1970's micro ice age that stayed cold until April. 1977 had a warm and early start to spring while 1979 was a typical transition to spring. 2013, 2014, and 2015 all had vicious winters that persisted well into April, and 2013's and 2014's #CherryBlossomDC peak blooms were April 9 and April 10 respectively. This year's #CherryBlossomDC peak bloom is projected to take place between April 11-15 even LATER than last year, but I wouldn't be surprised if this year's #CherryBlossomDC peak bloom will exceed 1958's April 18 record. April 24, 2015, would be my best bet for this year's #CherryBlossomDC peak bloom.
- Cory Morrison · Follow · Top Commenter · Filing/Labelling/General Assistant with Industrial Supply Products at Independent Distributors Inc.My eyes are getting tired of handling the jet stream on the maps showing the same thing almost every week. If we could have an S shaped jet stream instead of a Z shaped jet stream for once, that would be great.
- Kevin Privinik · Top Commenter · Cleveland, OhioIn the meantime we are sitting at 59F as of this hour here in the northeast Ohio, can we have 60? looks likely still. If we do it is our first 60 of 2015, first since Nov 30 2014 (Dec 24 2014 we missed it by one at 59F).
- Kevin Privinik · Top Commenter · Cleveland, Ohio
- Joshua Wade · Follow · Owensboro, KentuckyI live in Owensboro and they reached its first 70F day earlier today (March 16, 2015). High was 76F where I live, I even saw several daffodils blooming at my house.
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