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From AccuWeather.com, this is AccuWeather Daily, a brief host read article, its weather news,
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Well, AccuWeather forecasters are saying there might be a painful reality check coming over
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the weekend for the Great Lakes region, then expanding to the northeast early next week.
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For tens of millions across parts of the Midwest and the East, temperatures are expected to
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challenge daily record highs and reach levels more typical of early summer on Friday into
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A slew of record highs were set Wednesday, including in many of the major mid-Atlantic
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Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., both hit 91 degrees, and New York City was at 90.
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The high in Baltimore reached 93.
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This is the earliest occurrence of 90 degree temps in Philadelphia since April 16, 2002.
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It was also the earliest 90 degree day in Baltimore and D.C., since April of 2013.
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A wedge of cool air snuck southward along the New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts on
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Thursday, creating a significant temperature contrast from the beaches to areas several
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miles inland that will last through Saturday.
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Farther south, the heat will hold on, temperatures in Charlotte could challenge the daily record
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of 93 set in 1896 on Saturday in Atlanta.
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Daily record highs are expected to be challenged through Saturday.
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Shower's and severe thunderstorms may limit temperatures in parts of the Midwest, but Nashville
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could still challenge record highs on Friday.
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Another surge of heat could occur Saturday in portions of the Atlantic seaboard.
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Another cold shock is in the works, a storm forecast to bring late-season snow to part
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of the Intermountain West into Friday will bring a new round of severe weather to the central
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states and drag colder air eastward this weekend.
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The shift in temperatures may feel more like a changing of the seasons.
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With widespread summer-like conditions during the day on Friday and Saturday, followed
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by night time lows more typical of late winter or early spring, with some spots dipping
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For some locations, this will be a 50 to 60 degree temperature drop.
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Temperatures are forecast to fall to near or below freezing Monday morning in locations,
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such as Madison, Wisconsin, Lansing, Michigan and Binghamton, New York.
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By Tuesday morning, as colder air expands southward and eastward, near to below freezing
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temps are expected in Cleveland, Shenandoah, Virginia, Allentown, Pennsylvania and Worcester
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Pockets of freezing conditions may also reach coastal areas, including Long Island and
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Southern New Jersey.
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The incoming cold may pose a risk to annual flowers that were planted during the recent
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warm period or are currently available at garden centers.
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These plants may need to be protected or brought in from the cold at night.
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When impacts may occur to trees, vines and bushes where buds have broken through or
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softened due to the warm conditions.
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AccuWeathers Paul Pastelok says that multiple days of unusually warm conditions in some
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cases, combined with downpours, will tend to accelerate budding and blossoming earlier
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Temperatures during April so far are running two to eight degrees above the historical
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average in the east, and that alone has been putting pressure on early blossoming and
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leaf out, despite cold conditions earlier in the year.
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Damaged buds and blossoms could affect fruit production later on in the year as well.
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The cold conditions are expected to last only a couple of days before temps slowly rebound.
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Pastelok said that due to atmospheric patterns in the northern Pacific additional cool periods
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are possible later on in April and in the May.
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In the southeast states, the transition from heat to cooler and less humid conditions may
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allow some much-needed rain to fall in some locations this weekend, much of the region
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has been experiencing drought and increased wildfire danger.
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You can find more regional forecasts and science-based articles at AccuWeather.com and for your local
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forecast at your fingertips, download the free AccuWeather app.
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Enjoy the rest of your day.
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I'll be back on Monday with more from AccuWeather.