Temperatures in Delaware are plummeting from record-setting highs to below-average lows this week as a cold snap moves through the region.
A front that moved in Sunday night is bringing unusually low temperatures to the area, says National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Johnson. Overnight lows will be in the teens early this week, about ten degrees below Wilmington's standard early January low of 25.
"So it is quite a bit below normal, but I think the change is kind of compounded by the fact that we were so above normal last month," says Johnson. "It feels like an even bigger change."
Johnson says the strong Pacific El Niño driving this weather has weakened slightly, but temperatures should warm back up later this week.
The mercury is forecast to rise into the 40s by Thursday. That'll be back above average for this time of year -- but not by as much as in December, which Johnson says was the warmest on record for Delaware.
"That was certainly quite the anomaly," Johnson says. "It does not look like we are going to have something as much above normal as what we saw last month."
She adds that the earliest chance of precipitation comes this weekend, but Delaware is likely to see rain rather than the flurries forecast for early this week. Southeastern Pennsylvania may get some wintry mix.