March has a way of delivering severe weather hits in the Tri-State, and this week drives that point home.
After a high of 80 degrees in Central Park on Tuesday — the first 80-degree temperature on record for the city — temperatures dropped Thursday. And before the big drop in temperatures, we’ve got a few storms in the forecast, with severe weather possible in isolated locations.
The strongest storms will be southwest of New York City, where Wednesday’s temperatures are warmest and the air is most unstable. For Central and South Jersey, the threat level is Level 1 (lowest on a scale of 1 to 5). As storms move toward cooler air on the coast, they should weaken.
The most likely threat from the strongest storms will be damaging straight-line winds. Small hail is also possible, but the probability is low.
The highest chance of storms will occur between mid-evening and overnight. They will move from west to east ahead of the incoming cold front.
Hour-by-hour forecasting approach
wednesday 8 pm
wednesday 9 pm
Wednesday at 10 pm
wednesday 11 pm
Thursday 12 am
The real blow to our system will come on Thursday, when cold winds will blow into the region and bring a winter feel. Temperatures Thursday morning will start out in the 50s and 60s, but will quickly drop into the 40s by the afternoon.
As temperatures drop, winds will gust up to 30 mph, and we’ll see some light rain in the area.
As temperatures drop into the upper 40s and low 30s, a few light showers may be mixed with snow. But with surface air temperatures well above zero and the ground warming from our spring fling earlier in the week, any layers that fall will melt quickly, so don’t expect any accumulation.
The cool air continues through Friday, with some slight warming over the weekend, when we expect high temperatures to be close to normal – near 50 degrees – under dry skies.
Track any approaching storms using our interactive radar below.
<a href=