AccuWeather reports just after sunrise on Thursday, Punxsutawney Phil declared six more weeks of winter for the United States – a prognostication AccuWeather meteorologists largely agree with.
Though many Americans are longing for warmer weather, most of the country will be faced with weeks of wintry conditions.
“There will be more rain than snow in the big East Coast cities,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. However, the interior Northeast will have a higher chance for snow as temperatures remain below normal.
“As far as a significant warmup goes across the Northeast, I think you have to hold off til late April or early May,” he said.
Cold air and snow will also persist in the Midwest, northern Plains and Northwest, enveloping nearly the entire northern tier of the country.
Northern and central California will see additional winter storms and rainfall. The abundant precipitation will continue to build a buffer for reservoirs in the coming months, Pastelok said.
Meanwhile, wet weather will grip cities from the mid-Atlantic down to the Florida Panhandle.
The rest of Florida will mark the exception for the Southeast, as dry weather prevails between now and springtime.
The spring season will officially begin on March 20.
For more details on what to expect, check back for AccuWeather’s full 2017 spring forecast on Feb. 8.
By Jillian MacMath, writer for AccuWeather.com