Last weekend ushered in the official start of meteorological spring, and temperatures this week will feel very spring-like. But coming with the warmth is a midweek round of showers and storms.
This week started frigid, with highs only managing the upper 30s. Temperatures quickly recover, climbing back into the 50s by Tuesday. Normal high temperatures for early March are in the mid-40s, so this week will be feeling more like late March or early April.
But this won’t necessarily be weather you’ll want to be outside in. Tuesday and Thursday will be nice enough days, but Wednesday, our warmest day of the week, will also be wet.
Showers push into the Hudson Valley as early as Wednesday morning. They shouldn’t be too prohibitive, but they will be steady at times and you may have a damp drive to work.
Most of us will have relatively dry skies through lunchtime, but as the day wears on, rain chances climb as the line of steadier showers presses toward the coast from the north. Take an umbrella with you on Wednesday.
By the evening commute, steady rain with embedded storms will be covering the tri-state area.
Visibility on the road may be reduced in some of the heavier downpours. Ponding on roads could also be a problem, so plan for your drive home to take a little longer than usual.
Not only could the rain be heavy at times, but thunder and severe wind gusts aren’t out of the question.
The greatest threat for strong to severe storms lies across Central and South Jersey. Weaker thunderstorms could develop through the Hudson Valley, Connecticut, NYC, and Long Island. Check the latest weather alerts for your neighborhood here.
Winds late Wednesday afternoon and evening will be whipping. Gusts of 30 to 40 mph will be common across the area, with isolated gusts up to 60 mph possible. Make sure to secure your garbage cans, outdoor furniture and decorations so they don’t end up in your neighbor’s yard or farther down the block.
While storms could make for a messy evening, they will move through quickly and skies will be much quieter by late evening. In total, we expect a half-inch to one inch of rain in most places.
North of the city, where the rain will be more consistent throughout the day, over an inch is possible.
The rain is sorely needed. We have not recovered from last fall’s drought. Most of the area is still experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions, so a good mid-week soaking is good for the region.
Behind the rain, this system will bring in cooler temperatures. It won’t be the drastic arctic rush we got last weekend, but do expect a 5-to-10 degree cooldown starting Thursday.
The cool-down will bring us back to normal temperatures through the coming weekend. After that, a warm surge will take our temperatures into the 60s next week.
