Spring officially began over seven days ago, but there has been little hint of it's presence through it's first week. The bad news, for those longing for the warmer weather, is that spring looks to remain on hold throughout the remainder of this week. The presence of a strong high latitude block (a high pressure system over Eastern Canada which allows colder than normal air to be "blocked" into our region), similar to the one we experienced in December and January, remains in place as we speak. This feature can be thanked for the colder weather, and the snow event last week. This blocking feature will provide the foundation for a mean trough to remain over the Eastern 1/3 of the United States through this week, with a chance of light snow both Wednesday Night into Thursday as well as Friday into Saturday. Accumulations are expected to be minor, but the threat is still there. Featured image: 06z NAM model showing low temperatures in the 20's overnight Monday into Tuesday, below normal for this time of year.

Beyond this, glimmers of hope are finally beginning to beam through winter's darkness. The blocking pattern is forecast to collapse, and eventually the upper level pattern will respond, with warmer weather entering our area. However, meteorology is a field of transition, and we will likely have to suffer through some rain storms before the warmer pattern can take hold. After all, spring has always been known as a wild season in our area. Fear not, spring and summer will get here eventually. Just not quite yet.

Today: Sunny, with a high in the mid 40's. Northwest winds 10 to 15 miles per hour.

Tonight: Clear, with a low in the upper 20's. Northwest winds 8 to 14 miles per hour.

Article by John Homenuk. Written March 28th, 2011 at 10:00am. Looking for a forecast? See New York Metro Weather's Long Range Forecast for the work week, or view our Technical Forecast Discussion for the more serious weather enthusiasts. Also, check out our new Forecast Overview tab. For up to the minute details on forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.