We finally made it to "Spring Forward" weekend. One hour ahead on the clocks late Saturday night into Sunday morning means a loss of extra sleep and an extra does of caffeine to start early next week. It also means a chance to enjoy a little more time outdoors soaking in the sunshine and milder temperatures this time of year. If you like mild air we got plenty of it over the next 7 days ahead. Winter continues to remain non existent with brief shots of cold here in Baltimore and snows over the mountains for a day or two before impressive shots of warm air this early in the season blow on in.
Highs on this Saturday will barely crack 50 degrees underneath tons of sun and blustery winds gusting to 30 mph out of the northwest creating a high fire concern. Those winds abruptly change Sunday to the southwest popping temperatures above 60 degrees. High pressure will deliver the return flow and keep it flowing through early next week. Many locations come Monday could even reach 70 degrees. Now usually that kind of warmth this time of year comes at a cost.
Yes we will see some showers Tuesday and Wednesday but high temperatures don't look to cool all that much. Most locations will continue to remain in the low to mid 60s despite the cloud cover and wet weather rolling on through. We take a dip in temperature late this week behind the front but still remain above the average for this time of year. What's new there as most of the Winter was above average with more rainy days and tornadoes compared to snow and cold. Looks like the trend continues with 12 days to go until Spring.
Long range 8-14 day trends from the Climate Prediction Center continue to show this weather pattern hanging strong. Above average temperatures remain with below normal precipitation chances. This simply means the short sleeves may become more prevalent over the following weeks ahead making for more beneficial time outdoors.