From zero to 60 in a matter of days
Northeast warms as polar vortex eases grip
The polar vortex that swept recordbreaking cold across much of the nation in recent days was easing its grip Sunday as high temperatures in icedover states were forecast to climb into the 40s and 50s.
The relatively mild weather and above-average temperatures could dominate forecasts for the next 10 days, AccuWeather said. The warming forecast came one day after Boston; Providence, Rhode Island; Hartford, Connecticut; Worcester, Massachusetts; Albany, New York; and Glens Falls, New York, were among cities that set or matched record low temperatures for Feb. 4, according to the National Weather Service.
The bitter cold temperatures came after a mild January that ranked as one of the top-three warmest on record for over a dozen cities from Maine to Kentucky, AccuWeather said.
"There is every indication that the month of February as a whole will be above average in the East," AccuWeather long-range meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
Warming trends
⬤ Temperatures will trend upward by close to 40 degrees in some locations Sunday. In Boston, where two record lows were set within a few hours Friday night, temperatures will climb into the upper 40s on Sunday afternoon.
⬤ Washington, D.C., was awaiting temperatures in the 50s Sunday and 60s later in the week. On Saturday morning the temperature dipped to 17 degrees with a wind chill of 3 degrees. Philadelphia saw a wind chill of zero on Saturday and could see 60 degrees by week's end.
⬤ The warming trend was sweeping the Midwest, too. Green Bay, Wisconsin, which dropped to 8 below on Friday with a wind chill of 28 below, could emerge above freezing Sunday, and temperatures could near 40 degrees later in the week.