Tens of millions of Americans in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic will be enduring a frigid holiday weekend as temperatures are expected to be colder than they were during Christmas 2025.
Those in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and portions of Connecticut, Virginia and West Virginia will drop in the low to mid 50s on Saturday.
This is 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit below the normal average for Memorial Day weekend, often called the ‘unofficial start to summer.’
AccuWeather meteorologists noted that the weekend is expected to be so cold, major cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC will struggle to beat the high temperatures from last Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The forecasted high on Saturday in Washington has been predicted to be 57 degrees. In December, it was 60 on Christmas Day in the nation’s capital.
The major cooldown in the east will also be accompanied by a massive holiday weekend storm, slamming even more states with steady rain through Sunday.
Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Ohio and Kentucky are also expected to be in the path of this weekend downpour, which will drop up to two inches of rain throughout the region.
AccuWeather warned that the poor weather will likely impact outdoor plans, cause ground stops at airports and impair visibility on roads.
Pictured: Women walk through New York City during a rain storm (Stock Image)
Meteorologists predict temperatures in the Northeast will match the readings from Thanksgiving and Christmas this holiday weekend
The poor Memorial Day forecast has been fueled by a strong cold front pushing cooler, less humid air down from Canada and across from the Midwest.
This air mass quickly replaced the recent summer-like warmth that brought a major heat wave to the East Coast just five days ago.
This shift is called cold air damming, when cool air gets trapped against the eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains.
Since the mountains block the cold air from moving east easily, it piles up and stays in place over the Northeast, dropping temperatures for nearly 50 million people from Washington to Boston.
The widespread cooldown has been a shocking reversal from earlier in the week, when cities including New York and Philadelphia reached the 90s on Tuesday.
In Philadelphia, a 98-degree day on Tuesday capped off the city’s first heat wave of the year and marked the hottest day in May in the city’s history.
On Saturday, temperatures in Philadelphia will plunge to a high of just 55 degrees. It was 53 degrees on Christmas just five months ago.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said: ‘For some areas across the interior of Pennsylvania where there is a steady rain falling all day Saturday, RealFeel Temperatures may struggle to reach 40.’
More than 50 million people are expected to see cold temperatures and steady rain leading in to Memorial Day
Parts of southern New Jersey, western New York, Maryland, West Virginia and Michigan are also expected to drop into the 40s over the holiday weekend.
Unfortunately for anyone hoping for a summer warmup, forecasters revealed that the unseasonably cooler temperatures would likely continue for several more weeks.
AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said in a statement: ‘Sneaky cold fronts are expected to continue dropping southward from eastern Canada from late May through mid-June.’
‘This will largely knock down any attempt at prolonged warm periods for the Northeast.’
Although summer does not officially begin until June 21, Memorial Day has traditionally been a major travel weekend for those attending outdoor parties, barbeques, local beaches or flying to summer vacation hotspots.
According to American Automobile Association (AAA), 45 million people were expected to travel at least 50 miles over the extended holiday weekend.
