Just when we’re starting to be able to get outside and really enjoy this beautiful Rhode Island spring, we’ve been hit with a little piece of news from national weather forecasters. A springtime polar vortex is currently barreling toward the East Coast, and predictions are that we may see some snow as early as tonight. Here’s all you need to know about Mother Nature’s spring freeze.

This Mother's Day weekend could kick off with a very special surprise from Mother Nature.
-ocean / Flickr
A once-in-a-generation May snowstorm could be about to hit most of the Northeast and all of New England. At the very least, we'll experience some rather frigid temperatures.
This rare phenomenon is caused by a northeastern-bound storm called a bombogenesis, which occurs when the barometric pressure drops by 24 millibars in 24 hours.
NOAA
We've seen a few in recent winters, but it's extremely rare for it to occur this late in the year.

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So, what does that mean for Rhode Island specifically? As with most weather predictions.... we're not quite sure.
Jeff Nickerson / Flickr
For Providence and the surrounding areas, the prediction is that we'll mainly see rain (and lots of it). However, it's entirely possible our state will get up to four inches of snow, especially Friday evening.
Snow will begin Friday afternoon across the interior Northeast and spread into New England by Friday evening and continue overnight.
Rick Payette / Flickr
And while there's certainly no guarantee of snow in the Ocean State, one thing is certain: we will be enjoying record-breaking cold temperatures this weekend.
While this probably isn't the Mother's Day weekend news you had hoped for, the good news is, this dreary weather won't last.
Shaun C. Williams / Flickr
New England is far from the only region impacted by this. The polar vortex could have up to 75 million Americans waking up to below freezing temperatures on Saturday morning.

Hopefully, this will be the last winter weather we see until, well, next winter. But at least we aren’t dealing with the Blizzard of 1978.

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