What month is it? Temperatures plunge to winter-like chill in East while big heat looms for West

By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist

(CNN) — After more than a week of deadly severe thunderstorms and flooding, winter is making an unwelcome return for tens of millions in the eastern half of the United States. Meanwhile, the West is gearing up for a taste of summer.

Temperatures from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast dipped to levels more appropriate for the first days of March Monday morning and will come crashing down to February-like levels by Tuesday morning.

That’s bad news for millions of people in the central and southern US dealing with active flooding and those trying to clean up in the aftermath.

“If you’re somewhere that’s very wet, if you’re trying to ride this out in a home that’s had water, tonight could raise concerns of hypothermia,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear warned during a Monday press conference.

Days of storms have sent parts of Kentucky underwater after more than a foot of rain fell in the state. Much of the state will drop below freezing by early Tuesday morning and some northern parts of the will plunge into the mid-20s.

“Find a safe place to go,” Beshear continued. “We need you to be dry and warm.”

Kentucky isn’t the only place going toe-to-toe with winter conditions. Low temperatures could drop to near-freezing in Tennessee with 40s possible from Texas through the Southeast Tuesday morning.

High temperatures in hard-hit areas of Kentucky, Tennessee and northeastern Arkansas will struggle to reach the 50s Tuesday, adding more chilly misery to the cleanup process.

February cold will also extend all the way to the Canadian border. Temperatures will barely top the freezing mark in Buffalo while high elevation areas of New York and New England could be stuck in the 20s Tuesday afternoon. Some snow is also possible in these areas.

Temperatures will climb a few degrees higher Wednesday and Thursday — especially in the South – but this late-winter or early spring chill will linger for many through at least Saturday.

The complete opposite is expected in the West where summer heat will build in tandem with the East’s return to winter. It’s all thanks to a dramatic pattern shift in the atmosphere that’s sending cold, Canadian air to the East while hot air surges north out of Mexico in the West.

Temperatures will start to climb early this week in parts of the West and, by midweek, it will feel like late spring from California through the Rockies.

Phoenix could hit 100 degrees for the first time this year Thursday. That’s a milestone that typically doesn’t happen until early May. The city could soar higher and land in the low 100s on Friday — a high that’s much more at home in June than April.

Thursday and Friday will offer Las Vegas two chances to hit 95 degrees for the first time this year. Like Phoenix, that’s a threshold that isn’t usually crossed until May and a June-like high temperature.

Denver could log its first 80 degree day of the year Friday then follow that up with a June-like 85 on Saturday.

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