Northeast in the throes of a major warmup, but severe storms lurk

Memorial Day weekend is touted as the unofficial start of summer, but one week after the holiday, many residents across the Northeast were left to wonder when the springlike chill and rounds of rain will give way to warm weather. That change is finally unfolding this week.

Temperatures will trend upward across the Northeast through at least Thursday following a cold start to the week, when temperatures early Monday morning bottomed out in the 30s and 40s F across most of the region.

Afternoon highs in the 80s will be widespread through Friday, with the mercury making a run at the 90-degree mark Thursday in New York City , Philadelphia and Washington, D.C .

For some areas, this will be the hottest weather since September. Even where temperatures fall shy of their high mark for the