After Temperatures Near 80 on Friday, the Thermometer Plummets While Winds Pick Up

After a March that came in like a lamb, April appears to be coming in like a lion. On Friday, the temperature peaked at 79 degrees at GWC in South Plainfield. The May like temperatures along with a southerly flow created a potent atmosphere in the late afternoon and early evening that resulted in strong thunderstorms.

Friday evening’s weather was just the appetizer. It was the opening salvo in what will be a wicked roller-coaster ride of weather with sharp twists and turns that will have you hanging by a thread. The second act begins in just a little while from now when a strong upper level low spinning its way eastward into Pennsylvania will move through the area during the overnight hours, and be offshore by breakfast time on Sunday.

Currently, the barometer is sitting at 29.30 inches of Hg. Once the cold air and this upper level low push through, high pressure will begin to move in. The result will be a tight pressure gradient that will produce dangerous high winds. Sustained winds are expected to be between 35 and 40 mph with gusts in upwards of 60 to 65 mph. Those gusts could reach hurricane force offshore.

Anticipating this as early as Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a High Wind Watch, which is now a High Wind Warning. There are Storm Warnings for ships offshore. Accompanying the upper level low will be some showers and perhaps some thunderstorms early on late Saturday night, but then there will be a changeover to snow as the temperatures fall to near freezing by Sunday morning. The combination of snow, which could be falling heavily on Sunday morning, and the high winds, could create blizzard like conditions with low visibility.

The most dangerous time weather wise around the New York City metro area will likely be between 3:00 and 8:00 AM on Sunday morning according to PIX 11’s and FIOS1’s Joe Cioffi. The snow accumulations around the region will be low, but the intensity of the snow, and the blowing and drifting will make things treacherous. There could be more snow on Monday morning, and the cold weather will persist for the rest of the week with temperatures getting as low as below 20 degrees in some areas on Wednesday morning.

The mostly pleasant weather in March 2016 has frankly spoiled us. People forget that spring is a time of transition. There will be days like Friday with temperatures up near 80 degrees, and then days like what we could see on Wednesday with lows bottoming out around 20 before limping to just 40 in the afternoon. The precipitation could vary from thunderstorms like we saw in some places on Friday evening to snow like what we could see on Sunday and Monday morning. April is known for its showers because it does have its share of storms. It is also known to be chilly at times too.