April 25, 2013: Mostly Sunny, Seasonable Weekend

Forecast Highlights:

Following last night's cold front, a high pressure is expected to settle over the region through the middle of next week, resulting in a stretch of seasonable temperatures, sunshine and generally dry conditions, although a system to the west needs to be watched for possible scattered showers and slightly cooler temperatures into the early-mid week.

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Tonight - Weekend: Mostly Sunny, Seasonable

As a high pressure takes hold, mostly sunny skies will continue through Friday and the weekend with temperatures slowly warming up. A light NW wind is expected on Friday with highs reaching the low to mid 60s across the area. Saturday will be slightly warmer with highs in the mid to upper 60s, with Sunday expected to bring similar highs for coastal areas and upper 60s to possibly low 70s north and west of NYC.


Next Week: Uncertainty On Showers

While the high pressure is expected to remain over the Northeast, there is uncertainty regarding how far north/east scattered showers from a weak Ohio Valley system will progress into the region before likely being forced southwards later in the midweek. The latest models have been increasingly trending towards these showers reaching the area on Monday and Tuesday, resulting in more cloud cover and cooler highs in the 50s to low 60s. While the models could be a bit overdone, this is a possibility that needs to be watched, and at this time I slightly lowered forecast highs for next week, increased cloud cover and added a mention of isolated showers for western parts of the area. More information will be posted on this over the next few days.

By the mid-late week, the high pressure is likely to extend back west, suppressing any early week shower activity, although the high pressure will remain north of the ideal location for significant warmth in the area, with widespread 70+ degrees being redirected north into Canada instead. High temperatures in the area depend on how far south the high pressure extend; at this time, models show the area south of the high pressure with an east/NE flow keeping temperatures generally in the 60s along with partly cloudy skies. There is uncertainty regarding what happens with an Ohio Valley cold front that slowly approaches the region by late next week, although current indications suggest it will have difficulty reaching the area and may slow down or stall nearby or to the west, which appears to be the next chance of widespread rain in the eastern US. Stay tuned for more information on next week's outlook regarding any possible changes to the forecast.