Spring officially begins at 5:01am on Thursday… but it’s going to feel more like winter this coming weekend.
A strong cold front is swinging east on Thursday, associated with a low pressure system that pushed into southern Canada. Thursday will see clouds mixed with a few breaks of sun, and afternoon highs in the low to mid 50s. But that front approaches near sunset on Thursday, and rain develops from west to east between 7pm and 10pm most likely. Periods of rain will fall for several hours, tapering off before sunrise on Friday. We’ll also see cold air filtering into the region during the pre-dawn hours on Friday, causing temperatures to tumble into the low and mid 30s by sunrise.
One of the question marks with this system has to do with how quickly the cold air gets in… and how long moisture remains in the region. We could see rain mix with wet snow before ending in the Mid Hudson Valley… and possibly change to snow briefly in the Catskills… where a slushy coating to an inch or so is possible.
For the majority of us, it’s a cold rain, tapering off before sunrise Friday morning. Rainfall totals of a quarter to 3/4 of an inch is possible. Some icy spots may be a concern for Friday AM too, with temps projected near or below freezing by the Friday AM commute. Things improve quickly though, with temps climbing into the mid and upper 40s Friday afternoon, but breezy conditions will keep wind chills in the 30s for much of the day.
But the chill then settles in for the weekend, with a chance at some rain and wet snow showers Saturday afternoon, and temperatures not getting out of the 40s all weekend. So despite Spring arriving officially on Thursday… winter’s chilly grip won’t relent just yet.