From East to West, hundreds of weather records 'in jeopardy' this week
From East to West, hundreds of weather records 'in jeopardy' this week
Doyle Rice, USA TODAYTue, March 3, 2026 at 6:09 PM UTC
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It's time for a change in the weather.
The winter of 2025-26 has featured record-shattering warmth in the West and bitter cold in the East. But now that March is here, the opposite weather pattern is set to take hold, at least for the near future.
"During the middle to late week, a pattern change will take shape across the United States," said AccuWeather meteorologist Elizabeth Danco in an online forecast. "A notable dip in the jet stream will take hold across the West, ushering in chilly air. Meanwhile, a northward bulge in the jet stream will set up across the East, promoting a stretch of springlike warmth."
1 / 0Blizzard hammers Northeast as heavy snow and wind snarl region
A powerful nor'easter rapidly intensified early Monday as it pummeled much of the Northeast with heavy snow, grounding flights, shuttering schools and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.A snowplow clears a parking lot in front of a Tarrytown, N.Y. apartment building before dawn during blizzard conditions during the nor’easter Feb. 23, 2026.
Record warmth in the East
In this pattern, significant springtime warming will build over the central and eastern U.S. late week, lasting into early next week in the East, the National Weather Service said. Temperatures will be 20-30 degrees above average, with 80s reaching as far north as parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic.
The weather service in Washington, DC said that "after a mostly cold month of February, the month of March will offer the potential for a lengthy period of well above-average temperatures."
Hundreds of record highs and record warm lows will be in jeopardy, according to Weather.com. Even the chilly and snowy Northeast will see highs in the 60s and 70s this coming weekend.
By Thursday, March 5, high temperatures in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia will top out as much as 10-20 degrees above the historical average for early March, AccuWeather said.
A new weather pattern is emerging across the nation this week, with warm air in the East and chilly air in the West.Cooler, snowier in the West
In the West, a potent, fast-moving cold front containing gusty winds and mountain snowfall will move across the region this week, according to the weather service. This cold front is forecast to approach the Northwest Wednesday morning, March 4, before crossing the Intermountain West Thursday morning, March 5, and reaching the Rockies by Thursday night.
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Heavy snow is possible in most mountain ranges spanning from the Cascades to the central Rockies, along with the potential for low-elevation snowfall following the cold frontal passage, the weather service said.
In Utah, Salt Lake City should see snow this week, for one of the few times in the past several months, the weather service predicted.
Stormy in the central US
In between the warm East and cold West, multiple storms moving across the Plains and Ohio Valley in the upcoming week will set the stage for a multiday severe weather risk and flooding, Danco said.
Heavy rain/flooding and severe weather are expected in the south-central U.S. late week through the weekend.
Rainfall is expected to be heavy at times with these storms, Weather.com meteorologist Rob Shackelford said in an online forecast.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Weather Prediction Center has issued level 1 out of 4 risks for heavy rainfall for several days this week in parts of the southern Plains and the Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
"Some areas in this zone may pick up over 3 inches of rain, where multiple rounds of thunderstorms occur. That could lead to flash flooding, particularly in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains of eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas and southwest Missouri," Shackelford said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: From East to West, hundreds of weather records 'in jeopardy'
Source: “AOL Breaking”
