Blowing Hot and Cold: Weekend Weather for Southern Westchester County

SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — While the Central US faces more severe weather on the heels of violent tornadoes earlier this week, the Northeast is getting a beautiful spring weekend, forecasters say. That's not to say things will be normal.

From the week's crazy highs (Poughkeepsie broke a record Wednesday), temperatures will drop to only 20 degrees above average on Friday before plunging down to a couple of degrees below normal on Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service predicts.

The change brings relief for many: the Air Quality Index has shifted to Moderate for Rockland and Westchester, and Good for the rest of the Hudson Valley.

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It's due to a cold front expected to move through this afternoon — maybe bringing isolated showers or thunderstorms — and pulling cool, dry air behind it.

"With Friday being a day of transition, we’ll see a wide variety of high temperatures across the Hudson Valley. South of I-84, we could see highs crack into the low 80s… but the further north you go, highs may have to fight to reach the mid 70s," said Bill Potter of Hudson Valley Weather. "A much cooler night ahead for Friday night, with overnight lows in the upper 40s and low 50s possible. That sets up a much cooler weekend."

Here's the NWS forecast for southern Westchester County:

• Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. West wind 10 to 14 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. Northwest wind 10 to 14 mph.
• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Northeast wind 6 to 9 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
• Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. South wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening.
• Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 67. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
• Sunday Night: Showers likely, mainly after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Image: AccuWeather.com