A Taste of Spring This Weekend

For the first time since February, we will reach the 70 degree mark here in State College! Very exciting news for a lot of people waiting for spring, as we've been mired in this unseasonably chilly pattern for the past six weeks or so. Almost every morning when you woke up over the past couple of days this week, it seemed like it was snowing. Granted it was pretty light for the most part and hardly stuck to any surfaces, however, it was still a reminder that winter wasn't going away just yet.

When the groundhog told us we would have six more weeks of winter, I would have rather gotten it over with starting at the beginning of February, not waiting a month with unseasonably mild temperatures and then paying the price in the middle of April. But I wouldn't get too excited about this weekend's warm up. A strong cold front will move across the country Saturday night and into Sunday, dropping temperatures down pretty significantly, back to feeling like winter. So, unfortunately, don't put away that winter jacket just yet.

Our late week warmup can be attributed to a warm front making its way through the state - Credit: AccuWeather

Let's take a closer look as to what's causing this warm up to finally occur. A warm front, that is a boundary between a colder and a warmer air mass that brings in warmer air, will move through Pennsylvania on Thursday accompanied by a few morning showers. Temperatures on Thursday will creep up into the upper 60s.

Friday and Saturday are for sure the picks of the week, with sunshine present on both days and high temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. Shorts and t-shirts will probably be able to be broken out for these couple of days as well. It will reach above 80 degrees in Washington D.C. and places further to our south, which will be the warmest temperatures they've experienced in over six months (since the beginning of October)!

The warmth will struggle to go extremely far north, with portions of northern New York, Vermont, and Maine still stuck in the 30s and 40s for this weekend. As a massive and strong cold front makes its way across the country throughout the end of the week, the warm air mass will keep us in the warm sector and out of the heaviest of precipitation on Sunday, although it will be cloudy.

The precipitation shield from this storm system will stay at bay for Sunday in PA, only a few showers expected on Sunday with snow expected further north where the colder temperatures remain - Credit: AccuWeather

Meteorologists call this type of system a back-door cold front because it will move south from New England towards the Mid-Atlantic instead of the typical west to east moving cold front. This will cause a pretty significant temperature gradient between the warmer air to the south and the colder air to the north as the below average temperatures filter back into State College. It won't be as cold as it was throughout March, however, it will feel like a temperature roller coaster going from winter this week, to spring this weekend, and then back to winter for the beginning of next week.

Other Notes: Just how cold has the first ten days of April been? Looking at the map below, the white numbers indicate how much warmer the first ten days of April are, on average, compared to the last ten days of February. These differences range from 13 to 15 degrees warmer in April. Well, this year it has been drastically different. The blue temperatures at each reporting station indicate what the difference in temperatures has been for 2018. At all stations, the first ten days of April have been significantly colder than the last ten days of February were. Pretty amazing.

During a WeatherWorld segment that compares February temperatures to April temperatures - Credit: Dr. Nese

Here's how much below average our temperatures have been in the Northeast over the first ten days of the month. All of Pennsylvania has had temperatures six to nine degrees below normal so far in April.

Temperature departures for the first part of April this year - Credit: High Plains Regional Climate Center

In case you're wondering when the latest snowfall was here in State College, that happened on May 9, 1923, so getting another dose of measurable snowfall is not out of the question yet, especially with the weather we've been having so far this year. Get out and enjoy the warm temperatures this weekend while they last.

Three More Chances of Snow Before Spring Finally Arrives

It's April...and it's snowing.

I'm sure "April" and "snow" are not two words that you want to hear in the same sentence, but that's what we've seen here in Happy Valley over the past couple of days and should continue to see over the next week. Fortunately, the "end" is in sight for these cold temperatures and snow chances - by the end of next week we should have temperatures returning to where they should be for this time of the year.

Looking out of the Walker Building on Monday morning at the beautiful snow covered trees

Waking up on Monday morning to start your work or school week, I'm sure that seeing 4.5 inches of snow on the ground was not expected for most (unless you're a weather weenie and saw this coming a few days ahead of time). Monday morning's snowstorm was pretty to look at, however. People were snapping pictures on their way to class as the wet, heavy snow stuck to tree branches and grassy surfaces, making Happy Valley look like a winter wonderland again. Even though more than 4 inches was on the ground at the start of the day, all of it was practically gone by the time that the sun set on Monday evening - above freezing temperatures and a higher April sun angle will do that.

Just how unusual was it for this amount of snow this late in the season? It broke the record for the most snowfall ever recorded on April 2nd in State College and was a greater amount than the total amount of snow that has fallen over the past ten Aprils combined. Additionally, it was the biggest April snowfall in State College since 1982.

Officially 4.5" at the PSU COOP site this morning. A daily record, and more snow than has fallen in the last 10 Aprils combined (Total 2008-2017 = 1.9") #pawx

— Steve Seman (@SteveSeman) April 2, 2018

The #snow total of 4.5" at the PSU Co-op site is the biggest April calendar day snowfall since 1982, and the first 4" or greater April snowfall since 1993 #pawx #ctpwx

— Weather World (@WeatherWorldPSU) April 2, 2018

The thing that may be even more surprising is that we could add to our 2018 April snow total over the next several days. Arctic air will linger in the Northeast until the middle of next week setting the stage for additional snowfall, especially over this weekend.

Expect travel delays to occur with these systems as well as delays for baseball (we already saw both the Yankees and Mets have a "snow out" on Monday, and the Nationals might have to do the same this weekend). Keep in mind that this comes right after we saw a few flashes of lightning and claps of thunder in central Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, so definitely some bizarre spring weather happening right now.

The first snow threat moves through quickly Thursday night into Friday putting down a quick coating to an inch of snow in most places. Again, this will be a wet and slushy snow and will melt by the end of the day on Friday. Nonetheless, it will be a nuisance for travel and a quick reminder that winter is still here.

The snow associated with a warm front will bring small snow accumulations to the northeast - Credit: Weather Optics

The second, and most significant, snow threat comes on this Saturday. Models currently have the majority of this storm passing to the south of central Pennsylvania, however, things could certainly change between now and Saturday. Places like southeastern PA, northern NJ, New York City, and southern New England are likely to see the most snow out of this system. Here in State College we're expecting less snow, but the threat is still high enough for Relay for Life to move their activities inside the HUB for this weekend. Stay up to date with this system since a small shift in the track, depending on where the jet stream sets up, could move the snow further north or further south.

Areas where snow could fall on Saturday into Saturday night - Credit: AccuWeather

The final (hopefully) chance of snow comes on Monday night, where a mix of rain and snow, or maybe just snow, could fall. Lots of details still need to be ironed out with this disturbance, but we will continue to monitor it.

In terms of temperatures, our high temperatures for this time of the year should be in the mid-to-upper 50s and we'll be nowhere near that for the majority of the next seven days. Highs should only get into the upper 30s and lower 40s until next Thursday when a noticeable change is forecasted to occur. Temperatures will finally return to the upper 50s and maybe even reach 60 degrees. It will certainly feel like a heat wave compared to what we've been dealing with over the past month or so. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center demonstrates this on the map below with the orange colors finally over the eastern United States, indicating warmer temperatures for between April 12 and April 18. And, luckily, it looks like the warmth will stick around this time. Think warm thoughts!

CPC finally forecasting warmer temperatures beginning at the end of next week - Credit: Pivotal Weather