It Will Finally Feel Like Spring in Northeast, Great Lakes This Weekend and Early Next Week

Brian Donegan
Published: April 7,2017
Much warmer temperatures more typical of spring are arriving this weekend in the Northeast and Great Lakes following another blast of cold air and even some snow.
(MORE: Spring Storm Brings Great Lakes, East Snow and Wind)
A northward bulge in the jet stream, or upper-level ridge, will set up over the upper Midwest and Great Lakes this weekend, and then slide eastward over the Northeast early next week.
This pattern will allow a southerly wind flow to develop at the surface, drawing warmer air into the region from the southern United States. Many people will likely be swapping their sweatshirts and jackets with t-shirts and shorts.

Highs will be 15 to 30 degrees above average this weekend from the upper Midwest to parts of the Great Lakes region.
This translates to afternoon temperatures in the upper 60s to mid 70s in Minneapolis, Green Bay and Chicago. Farther south, St. Louis could reach or exceed 80 degrees on Sunday.
Minneapolis will likely see its first 70 degree temperature of the year on Saturday and Green Bay may see the thermometer reach 70 degrees for the first time this year on Sunday.
(MORE: 10-Day Forecast Highs/Lows)
Sunday into Monday, the well-above-average warmth spreads across much of the Northeast and likely persists into Tuesday, as well.
Highs should manage the 50s and 60s across New England and the interior Northeast Sunday, with near 70 degree warmth as far north as Washington D.C. This is roughly 10 degrees above average.

Forecast Highs

Many places will reach the 70s Monday and/or Tuesday, except in far northern New England, where it likely holds in the 60s. This is 15 to 30 degrees above early- to mid-April averages. New York City is expected to see its first 75 degree day by Tuesday.
The Interstate 95 corridor from Philadelphia to Baltimore and Washington D.C. will likely reach the low to mid 80s Tuesday afternoon, which will make it the first 80 degree day in Philadelphia.
A couple of daily record highs may be set early next week in the Northeast, as well.
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A cold front with showers and thunderstorms will return temperatures closer to average Monday in the upper Midwest, Tuesday in the Great Lakes and Wednesday or Thursday across the interior Northeast.
The overall trend through the rest of April is generally above-average temperatures in the Midwest and East, though New England is at the highest risk of spending this month chillier than average as a whole.
(MORE: April Outlook)

'Marchuary' – Colder than February

February was record or near-record warm in a large swath of the southern and eastern U.S., so March was quite a change in the Great Lakes and Northeast, especially.
Many Northeast cities experienced a colder average temperature in March than the average temperature they recorded in February.
(MORE: The Two Warmest Februaries on Earth Since 1880 Have Occurred the Past Two Years)

Average monthly temperatures and departures in January, February and March.

Buffalo saw its warmest February on record with an average temperature of 34.8 degrees, which was 8.5 degrees above average. March finished a degree below average with an average temperature of only 33 degrees.
On the other end of the Empire State, New York City also saw its warmest February on record with an average temperature of 41.6 degrees, which was 6.3 degrees above average. The average temperature in March was only 39.2 degrees, or 3.3 degrees below average.
In Pittsburgh, it was the third-warmest February on record with an average temperature of 40.6 degrees, a whopping 9.5 degrees above average. March wound up 0.3 degrees above average with an average temperature of 39.9 degrees, but it was still a tad colder than February.

MORE: Spring in Every State

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