Warmer weather to battle fall chill in Northeast

Temperatures dropped last week across the Northeast, bringing a noticeable fall chill to the air as September concluded and October arrived. However, this cooler pattern has been interrupted, AccuWeather forecasters say, and conditions are expected to continue to be warm into the early week.

"Friday provided portions of the Northeast with its chilliest morning in nearly four months," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Carl Babinski.

Some temperatures dropped into the 30s Thursday night into Friday morning across the region, including in Cooperstown and Glens Falls, New York; Auburn and Fryeburg, Maine; Orange and Norwood, Massachusetts; Clearfield and Hazleton, Pennsylvania; and Springfield, Vermont. Patchy frost occurred in the coldest locations.

After cool and generally dry conditions from Friday, another chilly and frosty morning arrived early Saturday across the region as temperatures lower a couple of degrees below average. Places like Monticello, New York, and Bradford, Pennsylvania, had temperatures fall into the 30s.

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However, Saturday brought warmer weather for the first weekend of October. Many places had temperatures rising a few degrees above average, into the 70s. Forecasters predict warmer weather will continue to finish out the weekend.

With high pressure moving out, showers will be free to rule the region most of Sunday, moving eastward. These showers are unlikely to reach the Atlantic coast until late Sunday.

In many large cities across the region, temperatures on Sunday will be in the middle and upper 70s. Temperatures can even soar 10 degrees above average into the middle 80s Sunday in Washington, D.C. Generally, high temperatures are in the middle to lower 70s in early October in the nation's capital.

Temperatures will reach the low 80s in Philadelphia by Sunday, which is about 10 degrees above average for Oct. 3 in the City of Brotherly Love. Farther north, New York City is expected to reach the upper 70s, also about 10 degrees normal for this time of year.

For those heading to the mid-Atlantic and southern New England beaches this weekend, surf conditions may be rough with strong rip currents due to Hurricane Sam, which will churn about 1,000 miles at sea over the Atlantic.

One spot where conditions may remain cool over the weekend is the Portland, Maine, area, where temperatures are expected to be in the upper 50s and lower 60s early this week. The average high temperature in the city is in the middle 60s in early October.

Fall is still working its way into the entire region, however, and residents shouldn't forget to make preparations for the chill ahead. Homeowners are recommended to clean gutters, seal drafty holes, check air filters, replace batteries, get furnaces checked and turn outdoor faucets off before the truly potent cold weather arrives.

This week, forecasters expect more showers and even locally heavy rainfall for part of the Northeast as a storm pulls moisture from the Plains and the southwestern Atlantic Ocean toward the East Coast.

"The mid-Atlantic coast could turn especially stormy with strong winds, coastal flooding and heavy rain if a low pressure area develops to its full potential during the middle to latter part of the week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. There is even some concern that a tropical system could move northward from the Caribbean following that storm several days later, Sosnowski added.

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