State College, Pa. -- 25 March 2011 -- AccuWeather reports after being teased with spring warmth last week, people from the Upper Midwest to the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Northeast have been thrown right back into winter. Now, many are wondering how long the cold is going to stick around.
At the very least, it's going to stay cold in these areas through much of next week with highs largely remaining in 30s or 40s. In addition to the cold, more snow is also in the forecast through next week.
Parts of the Southeast are, too, expected to be colder than normal the last week of March into early April with a more significant cold shot arriving there toward the middle and end of next week.
The southern Plains and Texas will not escape that cold blast either, though it will hit these areas a bit earlier in the week.
Looking further ahead through April and into May, there are indications that chiller weather could remain the norm from the Upper Midwest to the Ohio Valley and Northeast. Temperatures are expected to be below normal across much of the Northwest during this time as well.
"We don't see much of a big change from April into May," said Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather.com expert senior meteorologist and leader of the AccuWeather.com Long-Range Forecasting Team. "In general, places that are cold and stormy right now will stay that way, while the areas experiencing warm, dry weather right now stay warm and dry."
That is not to say that the regions will not experience any breaks from the cold through early May. Spring is a season of large temperature swings, and occasional warm-ups can and will occur in each of these areas. Colder weather is just expected to be more dominant.
In the Northeast, the overall pattern of cool, unsettled weather could start easing after the early part of May and especially heading into summer.
Temperatures across the Southeast are generally expected to average slightly above normal from mid- to late spring. Pastelok expects daytime highs to be a bit warmer than normal, though cooler nighttime lows will act to offset those departures.
Winners for Spring Warmth Are the Southwest, Southern Plains
Following a blast of cold air all the way into the southern Plains early next week, warming is predicted to kick in across the Southwest and southern Plains as a dominant area of high pressure sets up over the region.
The AccuWeather.com Long-Range Forecasting Team expects this warming trend to continue there throughout the rest of the spring.
While people stuck in the colder areas of the country may be a bit envious of the warmth in the Southwest and southern Plains, it will not come without consequences.
In addition to being warm, the Southwest and western portion of southern Plains are also expected to stay drier than normal, which will worsen the drought already affecting the area.
Wildfires, which have already been a problem in the region, will remain a concern throughout the spring, and likely the summer as well.
The AccuWeather.com Spring 2011 Forecast, which was released in early March, has more details on what is expected across the nation this spring.
By Heather Buchman, Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com
