Sentinel photo by SIERRA BOLGER
Sophie Reed, 5, of Burnham, enjoys a scoop of ice cream at Twin Kiss Tuesday afternoon. Area residents enjoyed temperatures in the 80s.

LEWISTOWN — If you stepped outside Tuesday and wondered whether you’d accidentally slept through April, June and half of July, you weren’t alone. The Juniata River Valley has been riding a weather roller coaster that seems determined to hit every season before the week is over — and it’s only March.

After a sun-splashed Monday night that dipped to a mild 42 degrees, Tuesday came roaring in with the kind of warmth that makes people dig out lawn chairs and consider grilling dinner. AccuWeather projected a high of 83 degrees, a temperature that doesn’t just flirt with the record — it ties it. For early March, when we’re usually still scraping frost off windshields, that’s the meteorological equivalent of a mic drop.

A cold front with attitude

But before anyone gets too attached to the idea of spring, Mother Nature has a plot twist ready.

A strong cold front is barreling toward central Pennsylvania, and it’s bringing a personality shift worthy of a daytime soap opera. Wednesday will start off mild enough, with temperatures still climbing into the low 70s, but the atmosphere won’t stay calm for long.

“There’s a strong cold front coming in Wednesday evening that will cause the temperatures to drop off pretty quickly,” explained David Martin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College.

“The front will cause it to cool back down closer to normal,” Martin added. “It will be awhile until we get anything this warm again — for that quite a period.”

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to fire up, and AccuWeather warns of heavy rain and a thunderstorm by nightfall — an 88 percent chance of precipitation and a 100 percent chance of someone in town saying, “Well, that escalated quickly.”

Once the front sweeps through, the bottom drops out.

Snow boots make a comeback

By Thursday morning, the same region that basked in 70-plus sunshine will be staring down a messy mix of snow and rain, with highs stuck in the mid-40s and lows plunging into the mid-20s. It’s the kind of weather whiplash that makes you question every clothing choice you’ve made in the last 48 hours.

Friday keeps the chilly theme going with highs near 52 degrees and the chance for rain and snow showers during the day. A few evening showers may linger, just in case anyone forgot winter still has opinions. Saturday offers a slightly calmer day in the low 50s, though breezy conditions in the morning will remind you that March is still very much in charge.

A brief truce before another cooldown

Next Sunday tries to play peacemaker with a high of 56 degrees under mostly cloudy skies, but don’t get too cozy — rain is expected to arrive late. Then comes Monday, delivering another cold punch with highs back in the low 50s and overnight lows dropping into the mid-20s. The early-week chill sticks around into Tuesday and Wednesday, with highs in the 40s and nights dipping into the upper 20s under mostly cloudy to partly clear skies.

Why March behaves like this

If this all feels dramatic, that’s because it is. March is famous for mood swings, but this week is putting on a master class. The sun angle is climbing, the atmosphere is waking up, and warm southern air masses are starting to flex. But winter isn’t done yet — not by a long shot. When the jet stream swoops and dips, it drags cold Canadian air right back into the mix, and suddenly we’re swapping T-shirts for parkas again.

This week’s weather is a perfect snapshot of that tug-of-war: a burst of summer, a dash of spring, a splash of thunderstorms, and a sprinkle of snow — all packed into a few days. It’s chaotic, sure, but it’s also classic central Pennsylvania.

Looking ahead

And if you’re feeling a little dizzy from the temperature swings, take heart. Tuesday’s record-tying warmth was a sweet preview of the season ahead, and the cold snaps still to come are just part of the March tradition. Around here, the month doesn’t just come in like a lion and out like a lamb — it tends to parade the whole barnyard across the forecast.