Residents enduring the brutal and life-threatening Arctic outbreak to end January can look ahead to the taste of March that awaits during the first weekend of February.
The departure of the polar vortex will open the door for milder air to surge in, first across the Midwest on Saturday and then the East Sunday through Monday.
For many, especially those across the northern tier, the upcoming warmup will be nothing short of dramatic.
There can be a swing of 40 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit from the lowest temperature reading endured during the Arctic outbreak to highs when the warmth takes hold.
“The mercury will go from record lows in the 20s below zero during the middle of this week in Chicago to about 40 above zero by the end of the weekend, a swing of about 60 degrees,” according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Bill Deger.
It will feel even warmer, considering how extremely low AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures are plummeting this week.
After enduring RealFeel® Temperatures near 60 below zero on Tuesday night, residents of Minneapolis will definitely enjoy highs near 40 on Saturday. Even if RealFeel® Temperatures are held closer to freezing to start the weekend, many are likely not to be disappointed.
Sunday and Monday may feel more like March days from Atlanta to Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, New York City and Boston.
“Temperatures will be pushed to near 50 in places like Pittsburgh and New York City early next week after being in the single digits and above zero later this week,” Deger said.
Next week can also start with temperatures climbing to around 60 in places as far north as Cincinnati, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia. That would replace highs in the single digits and teens along the Ohio River this Wednesday and the 20s and lower 30s in the southern mid-Atlantic this Thursday.
The mercury may climb back to near 70 in Atlanta while highs close to 80 will make the snowflakes that fell in Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday morning a distant memory.
