While it may look and feel like a return to winter over portions of Colorado, mid-summer heat will grasp much of the East today and linger into tomorrow over New England.
Article continues below
A dip in the jet stream will maintain much cooler than normal temperatures for the Rockies into the Plains, with a strong cold front separating it from the hot weather in the East.
Along and ahead of this boundary, showers and thunderstorms will again be common today with heavy rain/flash flooding possible over the middle Mississippi Valley.
In addition, severe weather is possible anywhere from Texas northeastward to northern New England today.
Storms may be capable of producing damaging winds and large hail.
Temperatures to the east of the cold front will be well above normal with many areas near record highs for the date.
This will also be the warmest day of the year so far for some.
90s will be common even into the Northeast which is about 20-25 degrees above normal.
Heat advisories are in effect for today.
Behind the front, snow will gradually diminish through the day over Colorado but temperatures will remain very cold for late May -- nearly 40 degrees below normal.
On Sunday, the cold front will progress eastward into the Northeast but slow as it moves into the Lower Mississippi Valley.
This will be the focus for heavy rain/flash flooding though many thunderstorms can produce heavy rain.
In the Northeast, Sunday will bring another chance of severe weather as the front slowly moves eastward.
Temperatures will rise into the 80s and 90s once again after a steamy start with lows only in the upper 60s to mid 70s.
Farther west, Sunday will bring much cooler weather to the Midwest, middle Mississippi Valley, and much of Texas behind the cold front.
Many areas will see highs about 20 degrees cooler on Sunday compared to Saturday.
Sunday night into Monday, the front will push off the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic coast but stall across the Southeast, maintaining a chance of showers and some storms.
While fire weather concerns are expected to be comparatively less than those of previous days, regional concerns are expected to continue for portions of New Mexico, where dry and windy conditions may continue to promote conditions favorable for rapid fire growth. ■