A Mother's Day Weekend Pattern Change Is Ahead
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The nation’s weather will undergo a distinct pattern change heading into Mother’s Day weekend, with shifts both in temperatures and precipitation from what’s been somewhat locked in place over the past week or more.
When will this happen: Expect this weather pattern shift to begin late this week.
Temperature changes: There will be two main highlights.
First, the East will cool down. Highs into the weekend should hold in the 50s or 60s in the Great Lakes and Northeast. Highs in the 70s and 80s will be a respite for parts of the South after searing in a heat wave early this week.
However, the Northwest will see its hottest temperatures so far this spring. Both Seattle and Portland, Oregon, are expected to tally their first 80s of spring.
(MORE MAPS: 10-Day U.S. Forecast Highs, Lows)
Nagging showers: One other reason for the Eastern cooldown will be some nagging clouds and rain showers. These could flare up at times from Friday into the weekend, from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley into the Appalachians and Northeast.
(MORE MAPS: 7-Day U.S. Forecast Rain)
A severe breather: The other change coming will be a much-deserved break in the parade of severe weather outbreaks we’ve seen for weeks.
While some thunderstorms are possible in the southern Rockies and Southern Plains this weekend, we aren’t expecting the rash of severe thunderstorms we saw Monday.
(Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.)
How long will this last: This new weather pattern may hold through much of next week, keeping the East near or slightly cooler than average and maintaining western warm. It could also keep parts of the South, East and Midwest wetter than usual while the Pacific Northwest stays dry.
What is this pattern change? Occasionally, the jet stream’s waves or undulations will switch positions, driving changes in the weather such as those described above.
Later this week, the jet stream will take a rather sharp southward plunge – or trough – into the eastern U.S. as it bulges north into western Canada.
This is essentially the opposite pattern that has been in place recently, with a sharp trough in the West and general ridge in the East.
That recent pattern has lead to unusually heavy snow for early May in California’s Sierra, Utah’s Wasatch and other parts of the Rockies.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He completed a Bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then a Master’s degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.