Wyoming and Colorado are bracing for a 25-degree temperature drop during a three-day period as cooler temperatures grip the West this week.
The last few weeks have brought a range of unexpected weather across the United States, from abnormally warm temperatures in late February across the Midwest to a "biblical" blizzard in California that dumped as much as 10 feet of snow in some mountain regions. More weather changes are on the way as a storm system will bring snow and rain to the West Coast, plunging some temperatures in that region by more than 25 degrees.
On Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center shared a series of maps that show the change in temperatures expected across the country this week. In southeastern Wyoming, temperatures are expected to be around 56 degrees on Monday before plunging over the next several days to end at 31 degrees on Thursday. Central Colorado will experience temperatures of around 64 degrees on Monday, but those will drop to 37 degrees by Thursday, which could be around 15 degrees below normal for this time of year, NWS meteorologist Brian Hurley told Newsweek.
"Monday through Thursday features spring-like warmth spreading east from the Midwest to most areas along & east of the Mississippi River by mid-week," the NWS Weather Prediction Center posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday with a timelapse of the temperature forecast. "In contrast, cooler temps & heavy mountain snow are expected from the West Coast to the northern & central Rockies by mid-week."
According to the map, other western states also are expecting a temperature drop. Central Arizona will have temperatures in the low 80s on Monday, which will drop by nearly 10 degrees to 72 degrees by Thursday.
Monday through Thursday features spring-like warmth spreading east from the Midwest to most areas along & east of the Mississippi River by mid-week. In contrast, cooler temps & heavy mountain snow are expected from the West Coast to the northern & central Rockies by mid-week. pic.twitter.com/UKWt3hP8Tp
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) March 10, 2024
Meanwhile, abnormally warm temperatures will create spring-like weather in the Midwest and along the East Coast. Hurley told Newsweek on Monday that in some areas, such as Minneapolis, temperatures will be as much as 35 degrees above normal.
On Monday, temperatures across the Midwest were expected to be around the 50s or 60s, although Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa were expecting temperatures in the mid-70s. By Thursday, temperatures in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee are expected to jump to the 70s. The balmy weather will also be felt in Pennsylvania south along the Eastern Seaboard.
The NWS Weather Prediction Center attributed the temperature fluctuation to a "large dome of high pressure" building across the South and Southeast.
"Temperatures over the next couple of days will be well above normal especially across the central and northern Plains and the Midwest before gradually advancing into the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley," the forecast said. "The return of dry weather coupled with increasingly gusty winds and low relative humidity will promote an increased risk of wildfires."
The forecast also said that "unsettled weather is expected to persist across the Pacific Northwest and into the northern Rockies with multiple rounds of lower-elevation rain and higher elevation snow."
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
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