Feels like late winter in the Northeast and summer in the Southwest

The week ends with a slow-moving storm system plaguing the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast with rain and high elevation snow. It’s feeling like summer in the Southwest and that heat rolls east a bit this weekend.

Weather Watch

Northeast storm. A slow-moving storm will soak the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Northeast into the weekend. The brunt comes to D.C. today, with heavier rain arriving by nightfall in New York City and the focus coming Saturday in Boston. About 1 to 1.5 inches is forecast from southeast Virginia to coastal Maine. Several inches of snow are also on the way for higher elevations of the Berkshires, Catskills and mountains to the north of that.

Southwest heat. Phoenix hit 100 on Thursday for the first time this year and the fourth earliest instance since bookkeeping began. A second consecutive record high is forecast today with a 101 expected this afternoon. Similar Saturday before heat shifts east into the Plains this weekend.

Lightning links

La Niña is dead. Here’s what to expect in the coming months.

Before, after comparison: Cincinnati flooding.

Pattern progression Friday

If you’re like me, you’re patiently waiting for warm weather to come back in the eastern U.S. It’s going to be at least another week to 10 days before that happens in sustained fashion, although some milder days are ahead early next week before new rounds of chillier than usual weather.

It currently appears that by midweek a new jet stream disturbance that is cut off from the flow will be somewhere near the shore of southern California. That could bring some precipitation to the region and might then slowly progress eastward into the central U.S. in about 7 to 10 days.

Of course, this is all far enough out to shift, perhaps significantly — but the signal has been there for a while now.

We do still seem on target to revert to a warmer east/cooler west and central pattern for the end of the month. If that comes to pass, another flare of substantial severe weather will become a risk.

About

Weekday morning newsletter by a journalist/forecaster. Connecting weather and climate change dots while occasionally stirring the pot.

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