Chilly Weekend, then a Warm-up
April 26, 2012; 9:17 AM
Thursday 10:30 a.m.
A low pressure area and cold front are advancing toward the East Coast and will be well off the Northeast coast by tomorrow morning. The front will stall in North Carolina, then a low pressure area will form along it. That system will cause rain late tomorrow night and Saturday in the Virginias and Maryland.
How much farther north the precipitation gets is open to question, but our forecasts have suggested a northern limit near I-80. Along that northern edge, it could be cold enough for snow. The storm should move out to sea on Sunday, allowing dry chilly air to flow farther south in the Eastern states.
However, it appears that next week will feature a significant warm-up for the Great Lakes and especially the Northeast. Instead of coming from Hudson Bay, the flow will be coming from the Southwest states.
Thunderstorms have been common near and south of the boundary between cool air in the north and summer style air in the south. This map shows lightning strikes from 10 a.m, EDT yesterday until just after 10 a.m. today.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com