Pa. to see 60 degrees as 'Bermuda High' takes big bite out of winter

Five more weeks of winter - phooey. How do post-Valentine's Day temps approaching 60 degrees in Harrisburg sound, instead?

What the National Weather Service is calling a "Bermuda high" is about to bring some spring-like temperatures across central Pennsylvania.

What is more, this weather whiplash could last for most of the next two weeks -- or longer, making a fool's joke of Punxsutawney Phil's recent five-weeks-of-winter prediction.

So much for trusting weather forecasts made by drowsy rodents.

Indeed, the Bermuda high that is sending warm air Pennsylvania's way looks so stable, it is an open question whether we will see winter again.

Sure, cold fronts will continue to pass through, but the normal mid-February temps of 20s at night and 30s during the day will be few and far between over the next two weeks.

And snow will be non-existent.

Rain, however, will not. And there remains a mild flooding threat from the snowpack in northwestern Pennsylvania. Thursday's melting rains, coupled with temps in the 50s, could be enough to swell some flood-prone creeks and streams, the National Weather Service warned.

The sustained weather change begins slowly today, said meteorologist Paul Head in State College.

This morning will feel very much like February, starting off in the mid-20s, but warming into the upper 30s.

Come tonight, the typical temperature plunge will not occur. Instead the beginnings of the Bermuda high will keep night-time lows around 30 degrees Tuesday into Wednesday.

On Valentine's Day, the weather will warm your mid-winter heart, with very mild temps reaching 50 degrees. However, look for rain to begin late.

Thursday will be both wetter and warmer, with highs at or near 60 in Harrisburg. Depending on the track of the rain, some areas could see a half-inch.

With some snowpack still clinging in northwestern Pennsylvania, the rain and melt-off could swell creeks and streams presenting a minor flooding threat, Head said.

The rain ends Friday and a cold front from the north will cool things off - but only to what is normal for this time of year and only for the moment.

By next Monday, the mild weather and temperatures in the 40s look to return and remain for the foreseeable future.

Head said the Bermuda high likely would remain in control of Pennsylvania's weather pattern for the next two weeks or longer, blunting the effects of any cold fronts moving through.

"That's the thing," Head said. "The Bermuda high on the east coast will pump warm air. Cold fronts will be a passing thing."

Head wasn't ready to write off the rest of winter, but said there was no sign of any significant snow over at least the next two weeks.

"It's a stable pattern," he said. "It looks stable for a couple of weeks. Beyond that, you really can't tell."

Still, Head was ready to pass judgment on his rodent rival's forecast of five more weeks of winter.

"As for Phil, I would say he was incorrect," Head said.

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http://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/02/pa_to_see_upper_50s_as_bermuda.html

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