The week ahead starts off with the aftermath of a cold front, but that won’t be felt long as temperatures head right back toward, if not slightly above, mid-March norms as astronomical spring begins.

We have one more rather warm day ahead for St. Patrick’s Day, but changes are coming as a front moves into the area late Sunday. Showers will kick up along with this front, and while we’ll get much of Sunday in rain-free, the risk for showers increases later in the afternoon through the evening. Temperatures on Sunday start in the upper 50s, warming to the low 80s despite increasing cloud cover ahead of the unsettled weather.

The front will clear the area early Monday morning, leaving behind much cooler temperatures in its wake. Tuesday may be particularly chilly as highs only get to the low 60s, but we’ll rebound quickly for the second half of next week (though staying well south of the 80s).

The weekend won’t be the sunniest, but it’ll still be on the warm side for a couple more days before a Sunday night cold front resets the needle a bit on this recent period of warmth.

We narrowly missed a record high on Friday; it was 86° at the airport, with the record of 87° set in 1967 getting a little nervous this afternoon. It won’t be quite as warm on Saturday with more in the way of cloud cover as a front lingers nearby, but we should still make it to the low 80s in the afternoon with a mix of clouds and sun. Showers look unlikely at this juncture as we sit in a lull between disturbances.

We’ll get St. Patrick’s morning in generally on the dry side (and a touch cooler too with lows in the upper 50s vs. Saturday’s low 60s), but showers should begin to increase by afternoon as the aforementioned cold front gets closer. By evening, expect a fair bit of shower activity to overspread the area. This should last into the overnight before tapering off by Monday morning, which will kick off a week of weather featuring temperatures much closer to mid-March norms.

High pressure will lose its grip on the area for Friday and the weekend, allowing some periods of unsettled weather to move in — but don’t fret as we’ll have plenty of rain-free time as well. It’ll stay quite warm, too, with 80s expected each afternoon.

We’ll at least get Friday morning in rain-free ahead of a disturbance that’ll push a cold front into the area Friday afternoon and evening. Showers and a few thunderstorms will be possible by mid-afternoon leading into the commute, but not before we warm back into the 80s once again. A strong storm may not be totally out of the question west of 17-A, but high-res guidance generally shows storms in a weakening trend as they push eastward toward much cooler shelf waters.

Shower and thunderstorm chances persist overnight Friday into Saturday morning before what looks like a break in the action for much of the day. Temperatures start quite mild — think low to mid-60s — and warm back to the low 80s in the afternoon under a mix of sun and clouds. Shower chances should hold off Saturday night and into a good bit of Sunday before returning later in the afternoon and into the evening as another front approaches the area. This front shakes us out of our run of 80s and back below normal for Monday and Tuesday of next week.