After a week of a divided weather pattern between springlike warmth in the East and cold air in the West, a temperature roller coaster is expected heading into the weekend as a cold front provides a brief February reality check across the eastern U.S.
Thursday will be the final day of springlike warmth across the East. The FOX Forecast Center said high temperatures will range from 15 to 30 degrees above average from the Northeast and Ohio Valley to the South. These regions are engulfed in a southerly flow out ahead of the approaching cold front that’s spawning a 1,000-mile-long severe weather threat on Thursday.
More than 30 daily record highs were set Wednesday from northern Florida to New England. Some of the cities that broke records were: Burlington in Vermont (57 degrees), Cleveland (68 degrees), Syracuse in New York (69 degrees), Pittsburgh (71 degrees), Columbus in Ohio (72 degrees), Paducah in Kentucky (74 degrees) and Pensacola in Florida (78 degrees).
The eastern U.S. stays warm Thursday while the western U.S. remains colder than average as the divided weather pattern continues for one more day. Most of the Plains also stay chilly with high temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees below average.
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Nearly a dozen record highs will be threatened Thursday along the immediate East Coast from Portland in Maine to Norfolk in Virginia. The records to beat in Boston and Providence, Rhode Island – 60 degrees in both cities – have stood for 113 years since 1910. A few other record highs are possible in cities such as Richmond in Virginia, Bristol in Tennessee, Lexington and Paducah in Kentucky and Gainesville and Punta Gorda in Florida. Most of these temperatures are more typical of late April or early May.
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As the cold front moves off the East Coast, the above-average warmth will be wiped away. Most of the central and eastern U.S. will see temperatures that are pretty typical of mid-February. One exception will be the southern Plains, where temperatures will be nearly 10 degrees below average.
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We promised a temperature roller coaster, so buckle up and enjoy the ride. The FOX Forecast Center expects widespread warmth to return to the central and eastern U.S. on Sunday and Monday ahead of the next storm system that could arrive by the middle of next week. High temperatures will soar to between 10 and 20 degrees above average. This time, however, no records are expected to fall.