Winter to make a comeback for the South and East

It's been an unusually warm start to the year for the South and the East, really, for most areas east of the Mississippi River. This is where average temperatures have been around 5-10 degrees warmer than normal. Some areas have seen the average temperature exceed 10 degrees warmer than normal with many new daily high temperatures being set in January in February. This has left many people wondering where in the heck winter is.

January temperature departure from average

February temperature departure from average

If you're not a fan of unusually warm temperatures, you'll like the forecast outlook. Temperatures will take a tumble across the South and the East later this week, just after midweek, with a larger drop by this upcoming weekend. While temperatures won't necessarily be cold, temperatures will take a big fall back to where they should be this time of the year if not a few degrees colder. Guidance is in strong agreeance with this pattern change.

Forecast temperature departure from average this weekend into mid-next week

The Climate Prediction Center is on board with this cooler pattern favoring increased odds for temperatures to run below average. The CPC's 6-10 day temperature outlook shows the favored colder temperatures for much of the eastern United States.

CPC's 6-10 day temperature outlook

It appears this cooler weather pattern for this region could stick around beyond the upcoming weekend and next week, with the weather pattern favoring cooler temperatures into the mid-range.

CPC's 8-14 day temperature outlook

This colder weather pattern will increase the odds of wintry precipitation and snow for parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast that are currently in a large snow drought for the season.

Modeled snow forecast over the coming days

At this time, there does not appear to be a substantial wintry precipitation threat for the South. This can change so keep checking back for updates.