It was a pleasant finish to the workweek, to February, and to meteorological winter. Plenty of sunshine and highs around 50 degrees across the borough give way to some clouds tonight. That will interfere with viewing conditions for the planetary alignment. Despite the clouds, Venus should be visible in the western sky, the other planets are unlikely to be visible with the naked eye. It stays comfortably chilly for this time of year overnight with lows in the mid-40s, a high launching pad for a warm start to the first day of meteorological spring. Highs surge to near 60 degrees by about noon. Then, the arctic wind takes over and sharply colder weather moves in. Gusts could exceed 40 mph during the afternoon. This dry wind will also elevate the fire danger. Feels-like temperatures tank to below freezing by sunset, and down into the single digits Saturday night. The actual lows will be in the low-20s, feeling like 5 to 10 degrees Sunday morning.

This winter shock comes on the heels of the warmest workweek of the year so far, with all five days having high temperatures at 50 degrees or above. Sunday will struggle to even reach the freezing mark. It will truly be tale of two seasons, with a springlike Saturday and winterlike Sunday. Feels like temperatures only recover to about 20 degrees during the afternoon on Sunday.

It stays cold through Monday night and warmer weather is expected to return this time next week with a potential major storm midweek next week. As of now, a windswept rain is possible most of Wednesday and possibly into Thursday morning. Temperatures could return to the 60s then, only for a brief time. Much-needed rain is expected, as parts of the city are back to a severe drought. Stay with the News 12 Storm Watch Team for updates.