April weather forecast predicts ‘major change’ as heat dome moves

As the calendar soon turns to April, it appears that we can finally shed all talk of the polar vortex until next winter as milder weather takes hold across much of the eastern U.S. and a cool-down ends the western heat wave.

A surge of warmth featuring temperatures above the historical average will impact the Southeast and parts of the eastern United States to start April, AccuWeather said in an online forecast. The pattern will support multiple days of temperatures in the 80s, with increasing risks for thunderstorms and heavy rainfall as a front advances later in the period.

Meanwhile, some good news is in the forecast for the drought- and heat-plagued West, as a cool, wet and even snowy pattern is forecast to bring some relief that’s desperately needed across the region.

Calling it a “major pattern shift,” Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue said the heat dome that’s baked the West for weeks will shift east and build strongly into early April. At the same time, a trough and much cooler weather will arrive into the western U.S. by mid-week, he said in an e-mail to USA TODAY.

Warmth, rain in central and eastern US forecast

Warmer air is forecast to overspread the central and eastern U.S. next week, according to AccuWeather.

“A long-lasting warm weather pattern may take hold across the southeastern United States next week, featuring multiple days with widespread highs in the 80s,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski in an online forecast.

Along with the warmth will come some storminess, Weather.com said in an online forecast: “A pattern change will bring rain and storms back across much of the central and eastern U.S. next week. This will bring much-needed rain to places that are drought-stricken, especially across parts of the mid-South and Tennessee Valley, while also helping to wash away some of that pollen.”

Western heat relief

The prolonged and record-smashing heat wave across the western United States will give way to a series of Pacific storms as April begins, bringing cooler air, rain and mountain snow, AccuWeather said. While temperatures will drop significantly, precipitation totals are expected to remain limited in key drought areas.

Overall, across the West, unsettled weather is expected early in the month, NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said.

An atmospheric river should track across California, even into southern California, by Tuesday, March 31, but is currently forecast to remain too weak to cause flooding issues, the WPC said.

Although the precipitation may be on the light side, very welcome rain and mountain snow will be common across the Intermountain West with multiple rounds through the week.

Rainfall will generally be light, with only a few tenths of an inch possible in parts of California, including San Francisco. High-elevation snow is expected Monday night into Tuesday and possibly again later in the week, but totals will be limited compared to earlier winter storms.

However, gusty winds could be a concern across the Intermountain West to the Rockies with this pattern.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: April weather forecast says heat dome will shift in ‘major’ change