Freeze to 80 degrees? Dramatic temperature swing in the forecast for Massachusetts
BOSTON - What could be more "April" than this in Massachusetts? Freeze warnings and 80 degrees in the same 7-day forecast!
While neither one is all that unusual during the last week of April, the temperature swings in such a short period of time are certainly noteworthy and, for some, a bit concerning.
Let's start with the chill:
Freeze warning for parts of Massachusetts
The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning for the entire coastline as well as all of southeastern Massachusetts through 8 a.m. Friday.
Along the coast and over southeastern Mass., the growing season technically begins on April 21, so, it is now underway.
North and west of Boston, the growing season hasn't started yet (by definition). If this were May 1, you would see freeze warnings up in most of Middlesex County as well as parts of Essex and Worcester counties.
Confused? Here's the bottom line. The next few mornings will be cold enough for a frost or freeze in just about our entire region.
The forecasted low temperatures will be in the 20s and 30s in the early morning hours of Friday.
Protect your plants from frost
Needless to say, if you jumped the gun and started planting in the garden already, you will need to take action to cover and protect your plants. Most things that are already growing or are being sold in the garden centers should be able to withstand the cold. These include the early season, more hardy plants like pansies and cold crop veggies.
As a reminder, there really isn't a full "green light" for planting in southern New England until about Mother's Day, which is still about 3 weeks away.
This is an average of course, and areas north and west of 495 tend to have their final frost a bit later than that.
The main concern over the next few mornings isn't in your backyard, but more so in the local area farms.
Right now, most of our area fruit trees are somewhere between "first color" (apple trees) and "full bloom" (pear and peach trees).
These are dangerous stages when temperatures are forecast to drop into the 20s.
Every degree is critical. Upper 20s could mean a 10% kill while low to mid 20s could mean near complete devastation.
Thus, most farmers will literally be losing sleep over the next few nights. The best way to prevent damage is to irrigate all night long. By spraying water on the trees and allowing it to freeze, this actually protects the delicate buds from being damaged by the cold air temperatures.
Warmer weather coming to Boston
Ok, now onto the good news: Other than a very slight chance of a few showers Sunday, we are in for a very dry, pleasant stretch of weather!
Some very warm air will be flirting with us early next week, particularly Monday through Wednesday. In classic "spring in New England" fashion, it won't just surge in here and be simple. Instead, a frontal boundary will be draped somewhere over the region and will waffle around for a few days.
Bottom line, the farther west you live, the higher the chance of experiencing frequent 70s to near 80 degrees.
As you get closer to the coastline, your odds decrease...you may just have to hope for a one day or brief period of warmth.
