WeatherFanatics: Don't pack away your summer clothes yet: Warmth to grip eastern US during 2nd half of September

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

September 13,2017, 12:01:24PM,EDT

As chilly air and snow dive into the northern Rockies, a pattern change will allow warmth to build over much of the eastern half of the nation this weekend.

Hold the hot chocolate. Don't pack away the shorts and short sleeves just yet.
Warmth from the Upper Midwest to the central and southern Plains will spread into the Northeast in the coming days.
The pattern will bring August-like conditions in many locations.
"While the greatest temperature departures from average will be focused over the Central states, above-average warmth will reach the mid-Atlantic and New England during much of the second half of September," according to AccuWeather Lead Long Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.

Temperatures will average 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in the swath from Amarillo, Texas, to Kansas City, Missouri, and Minneapolis into this weekend. Highs will range from the upper 80s to the lower 90s in much of this swath.
Farther east, temperatures will be less extreme but will still be well above average this weekend and into next week.
Temperatures from Washington, D.C., to Albany, New York, and Caribou, Maine, will average 5 to 10 degrees above average. Highs will be in the 80s over much of the Midwest and the upper 70s to the lower 80s in much of the Northeast.
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"Where the soil is wet, temperatures may underachieve by a few degrees during the day," Pastelok said.
Since the sun is not as strong and the nights are longer than during August, cool conditions may linger into the midday hours, especially where patchy fog forms the night before. However, temperatures will spike to August levels in many locations during the afternoons.

A potential hurdle for immediate coastal areas of the Northeast will be the proximity of Jose, which is currently over the western Atlantic Ocean.
Should this tropical system meander close to the coast next week, clouds could hold temperatures back to the 60s and lower 70s from Boston to New York City and Norfolk, Virginia, for several days next week.
Stiff winds generated by Jose will create dangerous surf for those heading to the beaches.
"Away from the immediate effects of Jose, warmth will hold farther west and is likely to build eastward when the storm departs for the northern Atlantic," Pastelok said.
"A push of cool air from central Canada may have difficulty sweeping beyond the Great Lakes and northern New England during the fourth weekend of September."
Such a scenario would translate to a warm finish to the month on the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts, even if Jose holds temperature back for a few days next week.
The warm weather pattern will help to extend the growing season and promote favorable harvesting conditions. People who have not closed their backyard pools for the season may be able to take a dip.

Cheryl Reaves Harrison

Come fall

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Sue Cruse ·

Marysville High School

Finally cooler in the Northwest, hopefully rain this weekend need to put out all the fires burning

😭

Like · Reply · 1 · 1 hr

Zack Hodgson ·

Woodstock High School (Georgia)

Good we need a little more summer. Would love for the above average warmth to linger into the 2nd week of October. We can welcome the chill after October 15 and November can be cold like 1996 or 2014 and I'd be good with that.

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