Milder days ahead for Midwest, Northeast following bitter cold

The midwestern and northeastern United States will gradually emerge from a deep freeze as Arctic air becomes stale and moderates by late week.

Prior to the milder shift, the snowy and icy landscape left behind by a far-reaching winter storm has been stubborn to melt away in the beginning part of the week.

Despite some sunshine, high temperatures have been no better than the teens, 20s and 30s F from the Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic and New England during Monday and Tuesday.

"On Wednesday, an area of high pressure will settle over the mid-Atlantic, signaling the start of a moderating trend," AccuWeather Meteorologist Kyle Elliott said.

Temperatures will trend to seasonable levels at midweek. Highs are forecast to range from the middle and upper 20s across northern New England to the 30s and lower 40s farther south. Given ample sunshine, light winds and the prior bitter cold, it's likely to feel even warmer than the thermometer suggests.

"Temperatures should trend above normal by Thursday and Friday as the high moves off to the east," Elliott said.

Daytime temperatures in the lower to middle 40s from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh, New York City and Boston late this week will be 5-10 degrees above late January normals.

Caribou, Maine, is forecast to reach the 30s on Thursday after spending much of the first half of the week in the single digits and below zero.

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Motorists and pedestrians will need to keep an eye out for icy patches that can develop during the overnight hours into the latter part of this week as snow and ice that melts during the day refreezes after dark.

Bright sunshine glaring off the glittering snow and ice will be the main hazard to drivers across the region into late week, with no precipitation in the forecast into at least Thursday. Make sure to grab the sunglasses before hitting the roadway.

"Clouds and precipitation will be working their way through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys by the end of the week, and this unsettled weather could arrive in the Northeast by the weekend," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr.

The damp weather will be associated with a storm system first expected to return wintry weather to part of the central Plains and Great Lakes and soak the South Central states with rain and thunderstorms.

Even with the milder trend ahead of the storm, AccuWeather meteorologists cannot rule out the storm having wintry complications in the Northeast during the last weekend of January. The extent of any snow and ice will depend on how much cold air the storm will be able to tap into or manufacture on its own.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.