Northeast Cooldown This Week to Precede Warmer Memorial Day

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

May 18,2015; 12:45AM,EDT

 

 

The Northeast will catch a break from summer warmth this week, but temperatures should rebound in most areas for Memorial Day, the unofficial start to summer.
The warmth overspreading much of the Northeast this weekend will not last through the week.
For the majority of New England, southeastern New York and eastern New Jersey, an end to the warmth will come with the weekend.

Cooler air from the northeast, arriving via the backdoor cold front that will first keep eastern Maine cool on Sunday, will bring noticeable cooling to Portland, Boston and New York City. About 10 to 15 degrees will get shaved off Sunday's highs for Monday.
Monday's highs across New Jersey will likely occur in the morning before the cooler air returns and causes temperatures to fall or hold steady.
A more widespread sweep of cooler air will erase all of the summer warmth and humidity from the Northeast at midweek. Temperatures will then be kept at bay through the start of the Memorial Day holiday weekend with a fresh shot of cool air to follow later in the week.
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For the I-95 corridor, the second half of the week will be perfect for outdoor plans and sporting events. Sunshine will dominate, humidity will be low and temperatures will rise to typical late-May highs.
Residents who wear jackets to work or school in the morning will likely be carrying them home in the afternoon.
"Despite the chilly mornings later in the week, the strong May sun will help temperatures rise 20 to 25 degrees just during the mid- to late-morning hours in many areas," stated AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Brian Thompson.
Jackets may get more use around the Great Lakes and central Appalachians at midweek with highs more representative of April. Temperatures in Buffalo, New York, and Erie, Pennsylvania, are expected to fail to rise out of the 50s on Wednesday, when highs in the middle 60s are more common.

The timing and strength of the push of cool air that follows will determine if another April-like day will follow later in the week.
The chill for the second half of the new week may also return frost and freeze concerns. It is not out of the question for pockets of frost to form in the coldest spots of the interior Northeast Wednesday night, but a greater threat may come Friday night.
"Temperatures will likely drop well down into the 30s in most sheltered valleys from northern Pennsylvania through much of New England Friday night," continued Thompson. "If the sky clears out, it will be cold enough for frost to form in these areas."
"Especially in northern New England, it's not uncommon to see frost late in the month of May," Thompson added.
A rebound in temperatures should follow for the second half of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
"Memorial Day itself is likely to be the warmest of the three days [this holiday weekend]," stated AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Mark Paquette.
The holiday should definitely feel like the unofficial start to summer across the mid-Atlantic due to the building warmth and humidity, but New England may not feel as summerlike until after Monday.
"The warmth should push from southwest to northeast, so New England should be the last place to experience the warmth," Paquette continued.
Thunderstorms will accompany the return of the warmth and humidity.