Atlanta’s overnight weather conditions on Saturday will usher in much cooler temperatures for region. Following a high well into the 70s during the day Saturday, temperatures will plummet into the 50s later that night, forecasters say. File Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
The same massive rainstorm pivoting from the Midwest to the Northeast into this weekend will allow a push of much cooler air to sweep from west to east across the southern United States, AccuWeather meteorologists say. People who mind cool weather will be trading shorts and T-shirts one day for long sleeves and jackets the next.
People in the Southeast, especially those in Florida, may be in for quite a shock as temperatures plunge. The first snowflakes of the season may even occur in the higher elevations of the Appalachians.
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A storm from the Gulf of Mexico triggered drenching rain in parts of the Southeast as well as severe thunderstorms that set off tornadoes and waterspouts across Florida on Thursday. That storm allowed a cool front to push through much of the region. Advertisement
That front did not make it through South Florida, where daytime temperatures will rise into the 90s through Saturday, but this does not mean that cool air has given up.
A much larger and stronger storm system will advance from the Midwest to the Northeast this weekend. Correspondingly, a much stronger cold front trailing the storm will sweep from its position over central Texas and Missouri at midday on Friday to eastern Tennessee and southeastern Louisiana on Saturday then into Florida on Sunday.
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“The front will bring a 10- to 20-degree drop in temperatures from day to day,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger said.
High temperatures in Houston will trend from near 90 on Friday to near 80 on Saturday. By Sunday, afternoon temperatures may struggle to reach the mid-70s. Temperatures Saturday night and Sunday night will dip well down into the 50s. The historical average for mid-October in Houston ranges from morning lows in the lower 60s to afternoon highs in the mid-80s. By the end of the weekend, temperatures may dip to their lowest levels since April. During early next week, the Houston area may experience its chilliest conditions since March if temperatures dip into the upper 40s.
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The transition to much cooler conditions around Atlanta will occur on Saturday night. Following a high well into the 70s on Saturday, temperatures will plummet into the 50s Saturday night and may struggle to reach 60 on Sunday afternoon. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will range from the upper 40s to the mid-50s. Lows in the 40s will be common for the first half of next week, and at times, RealFeel temperatures may dip into the 30s at night. Should actual temperatures dip into the mid-40s in Atlanta during the chilly outbreak, they may reach the lowest levels since last April.
“The change will be most stark across parts of Florida, where a record-warm air mass will be replaced by a record-cool one, especially in the southern part of the peninsula and Keys,” Deger said.
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Highs will be in the lower 90s both days of the weekend in Miami before the front sweeps through later Sunday. High temperatures through Saturday will challenge records set in 1990 at Miami International Airport.
However, in the wake of the front on Monday and Tuesday, temperatures may top out only near 80 on Monday and Tuesday in Miami. With a breeze and much lower humidity, it may feel more like the mid-70s during the day and the 60s at night. On Monday night, temperatures may dip to within a couple of degrees of 60. The record low Tuesday morning is 59 set in 1977. Should temperatures dip that low, the last time for such an occurrence was in mid-March.
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People spending a week at the theme parks around Orlando may need a wide range of attire to handle the changing weather conditions.
Following a high in the upper 80s on Saturday in Orlando, temperatures may struggle to reach 80 on Sunday, dip to near 60s Sunday night and be no higher than the lower 70s on Monday. Multiple nights with lows ranging from 55-60 are in store for central Florida early next week, which would rival temperatures last experienced since the middle of last April.
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A breeze will be quite active over the Southeastern states from later this weekend to early next week.
The breeze will prevent frost from forming over the interior but will add to the coolness of the air, especially in the shade during the day and when people are out and about during the evenings.
The breeze can also create choppy conditions on the larger lakes over the interior and locally rough conditions on the Gulf of Mexico and over the coastal Atlantic.
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Along with the chill in the Southeast, the air will be quite cold in the upper portion of the atmosphere from Sunday to Monday. When this setup occurs in the summertime, thunderstorms often erupt. However, at this time of the year, while the setup could also allow some locally drenching showers with thunder, lightning and even small hail, there may also be the first snowflakes of the season over the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians. Advertisement
Places such as Grandfather Mountain and Mount Mitchell, North Carolina, are most likely to have a bit of snow from Sunday to Monday, but it is also possible for places like Boone, North Carolina, and Bluefield, West Virginia, to also have a few wet snowflakes as well.
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