Enjoy Next Week's 'False Spring' While You Can

Winter isn't done with the US, but you wouldn't know it from next week's forecast. Meteorologists say a surge of unusually warm air will send temperatures 20 to 30 degrees above normal for more than 100 million people across the central, eastern, and southern states, with highs in the 70s and 80s stretching from Texas through the Southeast and into parts of the Midwest and mid-Atlantic, reports USA Today. AccuWeather's Matt Benz predicts a serious bout of "spring fever," while NOAA's Weather Prediction Center expects widespread warmth to dominate the workweek, though a backdoor cold front could keep parts of the Northeast comparatively chilly.

Forecasters warn the warmup is a classic "false spring," and that a sharp pattern reversal is already lining up. Later in the week, strong storm systems could drag Arctic air into the Plains, Midwest, and eventually the East, dropping temperatures 10 to 18 degrees below average, fueled by a southward shift of the polar vortex. Beyond the wardrobe whiplash, the flip-flop threatens plants and gardens: Early buds triggered by the warmth are vulnerable to damage when temperatures plunge quickly, an abrupt stress they're less equipped to handle than a slow, steady cooldown. This phenomenon is already happening in the Pacific Northwest, which is offering invasive species an opening to take down native plants, per KREM. As one local radio station notes: "Never trust a 60-degree day in March."