Warming Trend Ahead in the Upcoming Week

Tom Moore
Published: May 14,2016
For residents of the Great Lakes and Northeast, there has been no consistent stretch of warm temperatures so far this spring. After a "big chill" this weekend, there is better news on the horizon for the end of the upcoming week.
Residents of the Great Lakes and Northeast U.S., after finally feeling a couple of warmer days, will have to dig out their coats, jackets, and sweaters as cold air plunges into these regions this weekend. There will also be snow showers flying over some higher elevations of Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and northern New England, as well.
Although this event is not unique, high temperatures will be unusually cold, from 15 to 20 degrees below average, in many locations. There could also be some scattered frost in low-lying areas from Ohio to northern New England so remember to protect tender plants and vegetation.

A cold May day long ago in Oswego, NY.

This situation reminds me of one May way back in my college days at S.U.N.Y.-Oswego. I walked out of a building after one of my final exams only to see snowflakes falling, along with a biting wind. It remained cold the next day when my parents came to pick me up.
I gathered them and a couple of friends together and snapped a picture of everyone bundled up along the harbor on Lake Ontario.

Weekend Setup 

The culprit for the weekend cold is an "exaggerated" jet stream pattern. As a warm ridge of high pressure aloft builds well up into western Canada, a cold trough elbows its way down into the Great Lakes and Northeast regions. As a result, it will feel more like March than May.

Upper-air pattern shows cold trough from the Great Lakes to the Northeast this weekend.

Looking Ahead

There is much better news as we move through the week ahead. A distinct pattern change in the upper atmosphere will result in much milder temperatures for regions that will encounter the weekend cold. By the end of the week, a cool trough will be in place over the Northwest U.S. while a warm ridge builds from the Midwest, through the Great Lakes, into the Northeast.

Upper-air pattern shows warm ridge building into the Northeast late-week.

The result will be significantly warmer temperatures from the Midwest and Great Lakes to the Northeast as the days progress.
MAPS : 10-Day Forecast Highs/Lows
After a weekend with high temperatures in the 40s and 50s, highs in the 60s to low 70s will feel a whole lot more comfortable late in the week, so hang in there.

Relief from the cold arrives in the week ahead.

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