Eastern Pennsylvania Easter Weekend Forecast

You may like what you hear - and you may be a little disappointed by what weather is expected for Easter weekend in eastern Pennsylvania.

The forecast is promising that there will be some opportunity for going outdoors this weekend, with temperatures approaching 80 degrees. But some storms are expected on Saturday and Easter Sunday that could cancel some backyard grills, and force people to prepare for family get-togethers inside.

The National Weather Service predicts that we'll have warm, partly cloudy weather on Saturday morning and mid-day, with highs at 65 degrees. Then the rains will come, and could soak parts of eastern Pennsylvania after 3 p.m. on Saturday, and end on Sunday morning.

Then it will get warm on Easter Sunday, approaching 80 degrees, with mostly sunny skies before thunderstorms and rain comes after 7 p.m.

Thunderstorms will press eastward across the Midwest and interior Northeast on Easter Sunday. The warm air could give the thunderstorms a boost in intensity, while carry the risk of strong wind gusts, hail and torrential downpours. Sporadic power outages are possible, according to AccuWeather.

New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania are expected to escape the worst of those storms, however, that will largely pass through western and central Pennsylvania, and into New York.

"People preoccupied with church services, egg hunts and other outdoor gatherings should be prepared to take cover indoors as storms and downpours approach," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said in a release.

Here is the weather forecast for the region:

• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 65. Northwest wind 9 to 11 mph.
• Thursday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.
• Friday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 42. South wind 3 to 6 mph.
• Saturday: A chance of showers after 3pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 65. Light south wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
• Saturday night: A chance of showers, mainly before 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79.
• Sunday night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms between 7 p.m. and 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Patch file photo