Reinforcing strong high pressure building into the area on Thursday keeps our weather generally cool and quiet, though winds will be blustery and there will be a coastal flooding risk in the morning.

Lows will dip only to the low 40s owing to breezy conditions restricting better radiational cooling. However, cool air pushing in from the northeast will keep highs capped to the upper 50s despite plenty of sunshine. Combine that with an increasingly stiff breeze — 15-20 MPH in the metro, with higher gusts — and you’ll be glad for a jacket with some wind-breaking capability. At least the sun will be out, and the sky should be largely unmarred by any cloud cover.

High tide around 8:37am will get high enough for minor to perhaps moderate coastal flooding smack dab in the middle of the commute. Be ready for possible road closures if downtown is in your commute plans. I’d also be cautious around Long Point Road near Snee Farm as water levels could approach thresholds to flood that road as well. Coastal flooding will remain a concern for the next few mornings, especially as we get into the weekend.

Another chilly start is in store for Wednesday as high pressure to our north keeps some cool air blowing into the area throughout the night. This will send temperatures down to the mid-30s once again, with another shot at freezing in a few more secluded spots. Wind chills will dip below 32° at times in the morning, so be sure to dress appropriately. The good news is that we warm up some compared to Tuesday, heading to the low 60s in the afternoon under partly cloudy skies.

The brief warmup doesn’t last long, though: a reinforcing cold front comes through overnight Wednesday into Thursday, ushering in strong high pressure that will not only reinforce the chill — expect highs just to top out in the mid-to-upper 50s — but also kick up the northeasterly winds, which will start to drive tidal departures higher as well, which may lead to minor to moderate coastal flooding in the morning. This strong high pressure will lead to another mid-30s start on Friday, with highs struggling to the upper 50s despite mostly sunny skies. We’ll also need to watch Friday morning’s tidal departures for the risk for additional coastal flooding.

Tuesday will be another sunny day across the area, though you’ll want a jacket as cooler-than-normal temperatures continue. We start the day in the mid-30s, but the wind chill will make it feel around freezing. Some spots well inland could hit freezing, too. Bring in your pets tonight and cover or bring in any sensitive plants, just in case. Temperatures then warm once again to merely the mid-to-upper 50s despite mostly sunny skies as cool high pressure persists. This runs a few degrees below normal; the normal high for December 12 is 63°.

A cold front getting through overnight Sunday will clear the area by daybreak Monday, ushering in much cooler and drier air and setting up a week of below-normal temperatures. Clouds will be scouring out Monday morning, yielding abundant sunshine, but cold advection will keep temperatures capped to the mid-to-upper 50s in the afternoon.

Tuesday morning will start in the mid-30s — about 10° cooler than Monday morning — and could dip into freezing territory further inland. Highs will run a touch warmer, but only in the upper 50s to around 60° under mostly sunny skies. Temperatures moderate a little more on Wednesday before a reinforcing cold front swings through, sending Thursday’s highs down to the mid-50s with an increase in cloud cover, though dry air will preclude any rain with this front. Highs in the 50s continue to close out the work week.

As we get into the weekend, we warm up some, but the weather may turn unsettled once again as a coastal trough may develop with assistance from a storm system in the Gulf. It seems 2023 wants to go out the way it came in — with a continuous pattern of unsettled weekends. Not cool, 2023.

So, let’s get this out of the way: If you’re going to do stuff outside this weekend, do it Saturday. Temperatures will be unseasonably warm and there will be plenty of sunshine. Expect to start the day in the low 50s — a good ten degrees or more warmer than many of us started this morning — with highs topping out in the mid-70s in the afternoon. Aside from the risk for a stray coastal shower to sneak ashore at times, much of the metro gets Saturday in rain-free.

Sunday should be a different story. The first thing to note is that it probably won’t rain all day — there will be breaks, especially in the morning and early afternoon. However, winds will be cranking up with gusts approaching 30 MPH (and likely higher on bridges and overpasses, especially closer to the coast) ahead of a band of showers and a few thunderstorms that looks to push through during the mid-afternoon and evening hours. These could bring down some even stronger wind gusts especially inland of 17, but widespread severe weather isn’t expected given a lack of available instability. We should see any thunderstorms weaken as they approach the coast and the locally more stable air thanks to shelf waters in the upper 50s. Still, keep an ear out for possible statements or warnings in case a strong thunderstorm approaches your location.

Rain tapers off overnight Sunday as the front gets by, and it looks like high pressure will keep things on the cool side of normal for much of next week.

Another round of chilly weather is expected overnight Thursday into Friday. We’ll wake up to temperatures in the upper 30s Friday morning, but high pressure slipping offshore will allow temperatures to warm up to the mid-60s in the afternoon under a mix of sun and clouds. Overall, Friday looks pretty good.

The warming trend continues into the weekend. Saturday is the pick day of the weekend for outdoor activities, and it really isn’t close as a front gets through Sunday. It starts significantly warmer than Friday did, with lows in the low to mid-50s expected. Highs will top out in the mid-70s under generally partly cloudy skies. This will be the last warm and quiet weather day for at least a few days, so try to take advantage!

The weather changes fairly quickly overnight Saturday into Sunday as a strong storm system’s cold front drives toward the area. Sunday gets off to another unseasonably warm start, with lows in the low 60s expected. Showers may be firing off first thing Sunday, but the main band of rain associated with the front looks to arrive later in the afternoon and evening. Wind will be another factor, with gusts upwards of 30 MPH appearing possible at times, even outside of storms. The risk for severe weather is quite low, owing to the minimal available instability that’s expected despite no shortage of bulk wind shear. Still, some thunder is possible, and if additional instability can kick up, a strong to damaging wind gust or two is not out of the question. More fine-tuning of the forecast will occur, but generally speaking, Sunday just doesn’t look promising to be outside.

Thursday will represent the bottom-most point of this week’s temperatures rollercoaster, with lows bottoming out in the mid-30s across much of the metro with freezing temperatures further inland. Frost is a distinct possibility, and you’ll want to have pets and plants inside overnight Wednesday. Cool high pressure moves across the area during the day Thursday, limiting highs to the upper 50s to around 60° despite predominantly sunny skies.

Another cool couple days lie ahead as a reinforcing front comes through early Wednesday morning. This will be a pretty solid shot of cool and dry air as high pressure builds in from the west. We’ll start Wednesday in the mid-40s, but the cooler air rushing in will limit the high to around 60° in the afternoon despite primarily sunny skies. It’ll be a bit breezy, with gusty winds out of the northwest at times, so some element of wind-breaking may be ideal.

Thursday will be the coolest day of the week. We’ll start the day in the mid-30s, with inland locations possibly approaching freezing. A light wind will make it feel a little cooler, with wind chills in the low 30s across the metro. Skies will once again be predominantly cloud-free, but the cold high pressure settling in will hold highs to the upper 50s to around 60°.

High pressure slips offshore Friday, and this allows some warmer air to move back in. We start Friday in the upper 30s to around 40°, but temperatures will warm back toward the mid-60s in the afternoon. Clouds will also be increasing as a coastal trough begins to take shape nearby, but rain is not expected.

A reinforcing shot of cool air arrives overnight, and by Tuesday morning, we’ll wake up to temperatures about 10-15° cooler than we woke up to on Monday. Expect to start the day in the mid-40s before warming to the mid-60s in the afternoon under partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. These temperatures are right around normal for December 5.

After a weekend in which clouds were prevalent but rain perhaps not so much, we get into a mostly quiet week ahead despite a few frontal passages that will gradually cool us off as we move through the week.