Warm Surge Today Before Showers and Cooler Air Return to Delmarva Friday

A brief surge of spring warmth is expected across the Delmarva Peninsula and Maryland’s Eastern Shore today, but a cold front will bring a return to cooler and unsettled conditions heading into Friday. High pressure positioned offshore near the Canadian Maritimes is continuing to drift out to sea, allowing a strengthening southwest flow to develop […]

A brief surge of spring warmth is expected across the Delmarva Peninsula and Maryland’s Eastern Shore today, but a cold front will bring a return to cooler and unsettled conditions heading into Friday.

High pressure positioned offshore near the Canadian Maritimes is continuing to drift out to sea, allowing a strengthening southwest flow to develop across the region. This setup is driving warm air advection, pushing temperatures well above normal for late March. Afternoon highs are expected to climb into the low to mid 70s, running roughly 15 to 20 degrees above average. Skies will remain partly to mostly sunny through much of the day, though increasing cloud cover is expected late as the next system approaches.

That system, an area of low pressure tracking north of the region, will drag a cold front toward Delmarva later this evening. Showers are expected to develop during the evening hours and continue overnight, becoming more widespread across Delaware and the Maryland Eastern Shore. While instability remains limited, a brief rumble of thunder cannot be ruled out, though no severe weather is anticipated.

By Friday morning, the cold front will settle into the region and slow down, becoming nearly stationary across the Delmarva Peninsula for much of the day. This will keep periods of showers lingering, especially across southern New Jersey, Delaware, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, before gradually tapering later in the day.

Behind the front, a noticeable shift in air mass will occur. Cold air advection will take over, leading to falling temperatures throughout Friday. Morning highs in the upper 50s to low 60s will steadily drop into the upper 40s to low 50s by the afternoon, giving the region a much cooler feel compared to the warmth experienced today.

Residents across Delmarva should take advantage of today’s unseasonably warm conditions, as a return to more typical late-March weather arrives quickly heading into the weekend.