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Friday & the weekend: Unseasonably warm with a couple storm chances

/ March 23, 2023 at 6:30 PM

We stay quite warm for Friday into the weekend. Temperatures will remain in the low to mid 80s each afternoon despite a “cold” front projected to swing through later Saturday.

Friday will be the warmest of the set as nearly unfettered sunshine combines with ridging aloft to yield temperatures in the mid-80s in the afternoon. Winds will remain a touch elevated out of the south and southwest; this may cause some inconveniences for a theoretical Friday outdoor lunch, but other than that, it shouldn’t be terribly hazardous.

A cold front will approach the area Saturday. It isn’t much of one; the airmass change behind it is near non-existent. A prefrontal band of showers and thunderstorms could affect the area later Saturday afternoon into the evening, though it might be falling apart a little as it gets closer. Still, depending on the time of day it approaches, the near-storm environment could be interesting as far as the risk for a stronger storm or two, so we’ll want to keep an eye on that. Outside of thunderstorms, winds will take a turn for the gusty as the gradient increases ahead of the front. Gusts 20-30 MPH will be possible, so keep that in mind for any outdoor activities you may have planned. Highs peak around 80° with the increase in cloud cover and possible showers and thunderstorms.

The front stalls nearby on Sunday, keeping shower chances in the offing in the afternoon. As mentioned earlier, said front really doesn’t usher in much of the way of a change; dewpoints may run a couple degrees lower Sunday than they did Saturday but other than that, we’ll still feature lows in the low 60s and highs peaking in the low 80s in the afternoon. With the warm and moist airmass remaining in place, thunderstorms will be possible later Sunday, and these storm chances will persist into Monday and perhaps Tuesday before high pressure (and a cooldown) returns Wednesday.


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