Calling for a polar vortex for Eastern US come tomorrow.

[GottmitAlex 2,906]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/05/07/polar-vortex-east-extreme-heat-west/

[kinzyjr 3,682]

4 hours ago, GottmitAlex said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/05/07/polar-vortex-east-extreme-heat-west/

It's going down in the 50s overnight here.  As @palmsOrl stated - doesn't happen often in May but not unheard of either.  Parents will be getting a few inches of snow at ~3,000ft. in the Appalachians.

[oasis371 81]

You think that's weird?!  

This is NJ/Zone 7A, at sea level (0 elevation), we had almost NO snow all Winter, and enjoyed an outdoor barbecue in mid January when it around 70F.

But today, May 9th!,  The skies spit out heavy snow and other forms of frozen precip that I've never ever seen before in over half a century.

Meanwhile, Fairbanks, Alaska is going up to 80 F tomorrow.  

[PalmTreeDude 1,641]

It got down to around 30 something here, there was frost on the grill, but none in the yard that I noticed. Last year the coldest it got here in May was 45 degrees F one night. Here is a screenshot of the frost on the grill from a quick video I took late at night. 

[UK_Palms 516]

The polar vortex has hit this side of the Atlantic as well. After highs of 75F on Friday and Saturday, the arctic airmass moved in on Sunday bringing awful wind storms including gusts of up to 50mph. The highs on Sunday and Monday barely reached 55F. However the skies have now cleared and after a high of only 54F on Monday, we are on course for a low of 32F tonight under the crystal clear skies! I fear it may get even lower, down to 30F as I am already down to 40F at midnight here. If I do hit 30F out here in the country, it will be my coldest May night in 16 years. 

I have already planted out tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, sweetcorn, pumpkins etc. My grape vines already have lots of foliage on them which is probably going to get fried. Typical that this late cold snap would happen, after probably the mildest winter on record. I haven't had a frost here in over 6 weeks, since late March! But it seems inevitable that I will get one tonight. Hopefully the unopened flowers on the cacti don't get burnt off. Or my banana plant's foliage.

I'm dreading doing a garden tour tomorrow, potentially seeing all the spring growth cut back. The only saving grace is that it is very, very dry here, so the frost might not be as severe. I haven't had any measurable rainfall in 2 weeks and only 0.4 inches since April 1st. I don't know whether that will help mitigate any frost damage.