After a spectacular stretch of spring weather this week, Mother Nature brought us back to a cruel reality with colder temperatures and even a little snow to rub salt in the wound.  The good news is that the cold weather will be short-lived before we get back to near-normal temperatures this week end. From 5pm Wednesday to 5pm Thursday, temperatures dropped over 40 degrees in some places around the region. Most areas hovered in the mid to upper 30s.  Snow fell, but none of it stuck to the ground because air temperatures and ground temperatures stayed above freezing. On Friday, the snow is gone, but the chill remains. And with it, a bit of a breeze that means we have a return of the wind chill.  Daybreak temperatures will hover within a couple degrees of freezing, but a northwest wind with gusts up to 20 miles per hour will take the “feels like” temperature a few degrees lower. By lunch time, temperatures will be breaking 40, but wind chills will be solidly in the 30s area-wide. Then, in the afternoon, temperatures will top out in the mid 40s with moderate gusts continuing and wind chills holding in the 30s in many places. The good news is that temperatures will turn around this weekend. While we won’t be feeling 70° or 80° warmth like we did earlier in the week, we will rise back to near-normal readings – near 50 degrees – both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday will be the nicer day of the weekend, thanks to more sunshine than on Sunday. If you’re running the New York City Half Marathon Sunday, look for temperatures in the 30s at the start of the race, with a slow warm-up into the mid-40s by mid-day.  Don’t expect any sun on Sunday.  Clouds will be stubborn, but that’s not a bad thing for runners.  The good news is that the clouds won’t bring any rain.  The race should be dry from beginning to end. ...read more read less