AccuWeather.com reports the East will experience one last blast of cold air today before it starts to retreat and give way to warmer weather. Temperatures again dropped to near freezing levels in parts of the South. Tuscaloosa, Alabama tied a previous record low with the thermometer dropping to 15 degrees Thursday morning. The Northeast experienced below-zero lows as bitterly cold air from Canada remained in place this morning.

Numerous reports of snow flurries rolled in Thursday morning along the northern Atlantic coast of Florida. There, cold air boomeranged briefly over Atlantic waters, grabbing moisture and unloading it in the form of flurries or a variety of frozen precipitation in the Daytona Beach and Scottsmoor areas.

Arctic air will retreat into Canada later this weekend and will be replaced by warmer, milder air. There are two reasons for this drastic change in temperature in the East. One is the jet stream, and the other is the return flow around an area of high pressure in the Southeast. The jet stream will move northward into Canada, corralling cold air to the north. High pressure in the Southeast will also help to boost temperatures by providing a southeasterly return flow as it moves eastward brings warm, moist air northward.

Higher temperatures will return with some weather woes due to the immense snow cover over some locations in the Midwest and Northeast. Parts of New England and Michigan have experienced record-breaking snow this season, and with warm air surging northward, it will melt the snow. This will create flooding concerns, as well as fog and drizzle as the snow keeps the ground relatively cold compared to the warmer surrounding air. Flooding will also be an increased threat as storm systems in the West move into the Plains and Midwest by the middle of next week.