Upcoming roller-coaster weather sure to have its ups and downs

A sweatshirt was all Rick Durkan of Rochester needed on Tuesday as he ran some errands downtown. Durkin, who works in Boston, said his shift was canceled due to high winds in the Hub. (Lebanon Voice photo)

ROCHESTER - A few days after wind chills were well below zero and in advance of a major snowstorm bearing down tomorrow, the Northern Seacoast enjoyed a sunny, balmy day on Tuesday.

It was time to scrape melting ice and snow from shady patches on driveways, clear slush from gutters and get in a few Christmas returns while the roads were nice and clear.

Tuesday's temperatures soared into the 50s but by no means should you get used to it. The high today won't get out of the 30s and tonight's low will get back down to the teens in some areas in the Rochester-Milton-Lebanon area.

Meanwhile, Thursday's storm could dump eight to 12 inches of heavy, wet snow that could down trees and power lines, causing widespread outages. The clouds will roll in early Thursday morning with snow beginning around 10 a.m.

But the big takeaway here is that the jet stream that sucks in the cold air from Canada will be doing a north-south dance the next week and a half, according to AccuWeather Long-Range Meteorologist Mike Doll.

"The air will turn sharply colder late this week in the wake of a big New England snowstorm," Doll said.

So keep your heavy parka, you down vests and your sweatshirts by the door. You could be using all three in the next week.