Memorial Day Outlook: Warmer Air to Arrive in Mid-Atlantic, Northeast

After a cool, dry start to the holiday weekend across the Northeast, warmer weather will greet most Memorial Day cookouts and activities. High temperatures on Memorial Day will be near or above 80 degrees Fahrenheit from New York City to Washington, D.C. The humidity will start to become more noticeable as well, mainly from Philadelphia to the nation's capital. Even with warmer air moving in for the holiday, it will not be as warm or as humid as it has been in recent warm spells. On the flip side, temperatures are expected to stay closer to 70 F around Boston, where the warmer air mass has not quite arrived yet. Humidity levels will remain low across much of New England in this cooler air. The chilly water just off the coast will also help keep many New England beaches from Maine to Cape Cod in the 60s on Memorial Day. Even though water temperatures at the Jersey Shore and Delaware beaches are still only in the 50s and 60s, it should be a nice day to be on the beach as afternoon temperatures get well into the 70s. Saturday and Sunday look fairly dry across the Northeast, with the exception of a few showers across northern New England on Sunday. Memorial Day may be a different story, however, as the threat for showers and thunderstorms will increase. "There will be a battle zone in between the cool, dry air over New England and the increasingly warmer and more humid air south of the Mason-Dixon Line," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Dombek said. In this area, which includes much of upstate New York and Pennsylvania, there will be more clouds and even the threat for a shower or thunderstorm. "Even in areas that see showers and thunderstorms, the day should not be a total washout in most areas," Dombek said. Western parts of Maryland and Virginia will also be at risk for a thunderstorm. Other parts of the Northeast should have nice weather for the holiday. "The best chance of a dry, comfortable Memorial Day will be across northeastern New York state and much of New England," Dombek said. If you are outside and hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning, as lightning can travel well ahead of approaching storms. Use AccuWeather MinuteCast® on Memorial Day and throughout the holiday weekend to help you make more informed decisions about any of your outside activities. The warmer and increasingly more humid air is expected to linger into Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.