The groundhogs were unanimous in their proclamation of an early spring, but do their predictions jive with climate forecasts? Either way, the first week of February will be an active one with multiple storms impacting the area. Temperatures are forecast to start much above normal in the mid-50s, then taper down to being a touch above normal in the low-40s. Most of the precipitation that falls should be in the form of rain, though overnight periods could produce mixed precipitation.

Rest of today – Early clouds should give way to more sunny skies later in the day. High temperatures will be mild, in the mid-50s as a stationary front slowly lifts north as a warm front into the overnight hours. Overnight lows in the low-40s.

Tuesday – High temperatures in the low-50s. The warm front mentioned above stalls out, then returns as a cold front. This pattern brings the potential for some light rain showers. Overnight lows in the low-40s.

Wednesday – high pressure builds in briefly, and should give us some reprieve from rain, however, north winds will cool things off with highs in the low-40s. Overnight lows drop into the low-30s as a second, stronger storm system takes aim at the area. This one could start off as wintry mix and sleet overnight for NYC.

Thursday – any accumulation of wintry mix should get washed away as this second storm system lingers and produces rain during the course of the day Thursday. Mostly cloudy otherwise as highs climb into the low-40s. Temperatures currently forecast to remain steady for the most part overnight with onshore flow.

Are the Groundhogs Right?
Climate Prediction Center’s temperature outlooks for the second half of February and the entire month suggest that the groundhogs might be on to something – at least for the eastern part of the US (especially the southeast), where above normal temperatures are being forecast. That isn’t as much the case for the western US, as you can see below.

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