After a week or more of warm weather, a Canadian front has dropped into the Midwest. Late this morning, it was 78 in Columbia; showers developed in the early afternoon and, by this evening, it was 56 degrees. Tonight's low is expected to be in the upper forties and, as the cool, dry air settles over the Heartland, we will have a few days that feel more like early October than mid May. Winds moving across the north side of the high pressure will bring more chilly weather to New England, with highs expected in the 50s and lows in the 30s.
Such Canadian Highs provide welcome respites from the hot, muggy days of summer and become increasingly common as autumn approaches. This cold front may have the added benefit of triggering showers and thunderstorms across the parched Southeast; the cool temperatures and precipitation should help combat the ongoing wildfires in southern Georgia and northern Florida. Unfortunately, this is forecast to be a "progressive front" which, rather than stalling out, will move rapidly to the east and and take the precipitation out to sea. As the Canadian High heads to the East Coast, backside winds will sweep heat and humidity up from the Gulf of Mexico and more typical, late spring weather will return to the Midwest.
