Goodbye summerlike warmth? Soggy and cool conditions to return to eastern US

By Mary Gilbert, AccuWeather meteorologist

Updated May. 16, 2020 6:38 AM

After a tease of summerlike warmth, AccuWeather meteorologists say a soggy and cooler pattern will dominate the East Coast next week.

After many locations across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast ended the first third of May with temperatures 3.5 to 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit lower than normal, conditions soared to summerlike levels across the Eastern Seaboard on Friday.

Several locations, including Philadelphia, recorded their first 80-plus degree day of the year. Philadelphia's high of 85 on Friday marked the latest into the year the first 80-plus day had been recorded since 1997. Typically, the first 80-plus-degree day of the year occurs for the city in early April.

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Unfortunately, the same air that sent temperatures soaring also primed the atmosphere for damaging storms to develop over the area.

Severe storms blew through portions of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday, spurring dozens of damaging wind reports and power outages across several states. Atmospheric conditions were so volatile that a tornado watch was issued across portions of five states. For parts of New Hampshire, the tornado watch was the first issued for the area in nearly five years.

Though not as warm as Friday, pleasant and seasonable conditions are expected to persist in the East through the weekend before soggy and cooler conditions settle in place.

"It will turn cooler through the weekend and then a slow-moving storm will move from the Midwest this weekend to the mid-Atlantic coast next week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel said.

While temperatures will not rival the winterlike cold that gripped many Eastern states on May 8 and 9--cold which broke or tied more than 100 low temperature records--it will certainly not feel like mid-May.

High temperatures will generally be in the 60s and 70s across the Northeast and in the 70s and 80s for the mid-Atlantic on Saturday, with temperatures only trending a few degrees lower on Sunday.

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By Monday, widespread 50s are expected across the Northeast, with 60s and 70s for the mid-Atlantic. Tuesday will likely be the coolest day of the week for many locations as 50s and 60s will be common across both regions.

Temperatures will plateau beginning Wednesday, and locations from Maine to Virginia, will struggle to reach the middle 60s through Friday.

The major contributing factor to next week's cooldown will be a slow-moving storm that will first drench the Great Lakes Sunday and Sunday night before taking aim at the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Monday.

Rain and storms will occur over a wide swath of the eastern United States from New York to Georgia, on Monday. However, the heaviest rain that falls on Monday is forecast to focus over portions of Pennsylvania and New York.

The heaviest rain associated with this storm is expected to fall on Tuesday as the storm in the East interacts with what AccuWeather meteorologists say will likely become Arthur, the first named Atlantic tropical system of 2020.

The interaction between the two storms will cause the storm in the East to stall out over the northern mid-Atlantic and continue to dump heavy rain over the area. Though less intense, rain will continue over much of the area on Wednesday and beyond.

“Low pressure will sit and spin near the coast through Friday and conditions will be very cool, especially near the coast,” Samuhel said.

Despite chilly and damp conditions remaining in place through the end of the week, hope is on the horizon for warm-weather fans.

“It will turn warmer during the start of the Memorial Day weekend as drier conditions return,” Samuhel said.

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