Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.

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For those who thought this extremely warm early spring might flow merrily into an early summer, reality is about to hit you like a block of ice.

Roanoke's warmest March on record is about to give way to an Easter weekend that might struggle to meet chilly January averages.

If you're going to an outdoor sunrise service on Easter morning, get your warmest winter coats ready. And anyone with tender vegetation outdoors should prepare now to do whatever is necessary to protect your plants against temperatures likely to be several degrees below freezing.

While extremely warm temperatures have spread over most of the United States since a chilly St. Patrick's Day, much colder than normal temperatures have been building in Alaska and northern Canada.

The Arctic chill will come roaring south like a torrent.

The leading edge of that polar air will arrive today as a strong cold front pushes through the area. Expect some showers, maybe a rumble of thunder or two, and blustery west winds.

By tonight, temperatures will be in the 30s roughly from Roanoke eastward, perhaps in the 20s to the west of Interstate 81. For the rest of the week into the weekend, widespread temperatures in the 20s are likely, and some valleys could drop into the teens by the weekend as reinforcing shots of cold air arrive from Canada.

On Easter, highs in the low to mid 40s and lows in the low to mid 20s are expected in the Roanoke area. This is pretty close to an average day in January, maybe even a hint colder.

You can think of this April chill-out as all the cold air we were supposed to get in March arriving tardy and all at once.

It's not unusual to see a few days in the 70s and one or two clipping 80 in March, but it is unusual to have more days with highs above 75 (nine in Roanoke) than days with lows below 32 (eight in Roanoke).

At this point, it appears that cooler-than-normal temperatures are likely for at least the next seven to 10 days, perhaps two weeks or more. Strong high pressure will be pushing warmer than normal temperatures through much of western North America, and this tends to dislodge cold air from the Arctic and force it south into the eastern U.S.

If the cooler than normal weather holds in for half the month or more, April would have a good chance of being the 10^th straight month in Roanoke with average temperatures among the top few warmest or coolest on record.

When will we get off this crazy seesaw and have a normal month again?