World's First Chief Heat Officer's Tips

Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.

The nation's weather will undergo a distinct pattern change heading into Mother's Day weekend, with shifts both in temperatures and precipitation from what's been somewhat locked in place over the past week or more.

Temperature changes: There will be two main highlights.

F​irst, the East will cool down. Highs into the weekend should hold in the 50s or 60s in the Great Lakes and Northeast. Highs in the 70s and 80s will be a respite for parts of the South after searing in a heat wave early this week.

H​owever, the Northwest will see its hottest temperatures so far this spring. Seattle will tally its first 80s of spring and Portland, Oregon, could reach the 90s Friday and Saturday.

(​MORE MAPS: 10-Day U.S. Forecast Highs, Lows)

N​agging showers: One other reason for the Eastern cooldown will be some nagging clouds and rain showers. These could flare up at times from Friday into the weekend, from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley into the Appalachians and Northeast.

(​MORE MAPS: 7-Day U.S. Forecast Rain)

A​ severe breather: The other change coming will be a much-deserved break in the parade of severe weather outbreaks we've seen for the past couple of weeks.

W​hile some thunderstorms are possible in the southern Rockies and Southern Plains this weekend, we aren't expecting the rash of severe thunderstorms we've seen this week.

(Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.)

H​ow long will this last: Parts of the South could remain a bit cooler than usual next week. However, much of the rest of the central and eastern U.S. should see temperatures return to above average for mid-May. Much of the West should continue to bask in above-average warmth.

The Southeast is also expected to be wetter than average next week while the Pacific Northwest stays dry.

W​hat is this pattern change? Occasionally, the jet stream's waves or undulations will switch positions, driving changes in the weather such as those described above.

Later this week, the jet stream will take a rather sharp southward plunge - or trough - into the eastern U.S. as it bulges north into western Canada.

T​his is essentially the opposite pattern that has been in place recently, with a sharp trough in the West and general ridge in the East.

T​hat recent pattern has lead to unusually heavy snow for early May in California's Sierra, Utah's Wasatch and other parts of the Rockies.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He completed a Bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then a Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.