As if the pandemic wasn’t enough to break your spirits, Mother Nature has decided to pile on.
Frigid temperatures and some snow are expected to sweep over parts of the Northeast on Saturday, snapping a spell of spring weather that had been something of a salve and had driven people out of quarantine to golf courses and parks.
The National Weather Service has predicted that, beginning Friday night, an Arctic blast will move into the Northeastern states, bringing record cold temperatures. Parts of western Massachusetts could get up to 2 inches of snow, and temperatures in Boston are expected to plummet to 36 degrees with wind gusts of up to 25 miles an hour that will make it feel much colder.
The storm is the result of an unusually cold air mass from Eastern Canada that will travel southward into the eastern states, bringing March-like temperatures from New England to as far south as Alabama and Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service.
“I would characterize the upcoming cold snap as highly unusual,” said Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations at the Weather Prediction Center, part of the National Weather Service. “We’re going to see a large number of record-low temperatures from the Gulf Coast to Maine.”
The weather will feel punishing after a mild winter and a spring so pleasant that it drew crowds to parks in New York City, raising concerns about social distancing. One silver lining of the frigid forecast is that it may keep people indoors as government officials continue to try to control the spread of the coronavirus.
In New York City, where temperatures soared to 80 degrees on Sunday, the temperature on Friday night is expected to drop to 40 degrees. On Saturday, temperatures during the day will warm up to only 50 degrees, with a 30 percent chance of showers.
The cold snap may feel shocking even to New Englanders, but snow in May is not unheard-of in that region. In May 1977, parts of Massachusetts received more than a foot of snow.
Cold air masses traveling south from Canada are common. But this late in the spring, more direct sun makes it less likely that the air will remain so cold. That is what makes this cold snap different, Mr. Carbin said.
“This time of year it’s really hard to sustain cold temperatures,” he said. “It would be very hard to get much more unusual.”