We will continue to trend warmer heading toward New Year’s Weekend. First, though, we’ve got to get through one more night of subfreezing temperatures, and then we get a long break. But once again tonight, though, be sure to have a faucet dripping, pipes insulated, pets indoors, plants covered, and the people in your life accounted for and warm. Temperatures will bottom out in the upper 20s — certainly not as severe of a freeze as we have seen recently — across the metro area. The good news is that we’ll warm nicely with temperatures approaching 60° in the afternoon under brilliantly sunny skies.
We head back well below freezing overnight into Tuesday morning as gradually modifying Arctic air remains in place across the area and mostly clear skies allow for good radiational cooling. This is going to be another night where you’re going to want to have a faucet or two going to prevent burst pipes or other leaks from developing. Make sure pets are inside, sensitive plants are indoors or covered, and your loved ones and neighbors are warm.
Temperatures should be above freezing by 10am on their way to the low 50s in the afternoon. A shortwave trough will be swinging by in the morning through early afternoon, instigating some cloud cover but little else as very dry air remains in place across the area. We should see some clearing begin to take shape before sunset, after which temperatures will once again quickly fall back into the 30s.
Wet weather will continue on and off through early Friday before an outbreak of Arctic air brings much colder air and strong winds to the area for Christmas weekend.
The main character in the weather story for the rest of the work week will be a potent storm system barreling across the eastern half of the country, bringing with it some showers, maybe some thunderstorms, and almost certainly some cooler air for Friday heading into the weekend.
We’ll find high pressure wedging back into the area on Tuesday as it passes to our north. Morning lows will bottom out in the mid-to-upper 30s across the metro, with mid-30s wind chills possible with the northeasterly wind. (You might want to bring pets and sensitive plants in tonight, just in case.) With little moisture in place, we’ll see mostly sunny skies, but the influx of cooler air will keep highs pinned to the mid-50s despite the sunshine — solid sweater weather if I do say so myself.
Temperatures will generally run around 10° above normal for the remainder of the work week as ridging pokes in from the south and we await our next front, which will cool things back to normal for the weekend.
Wednesday should start with a fair amount of fog, perhaps dense fog, blanketing the area. Be ready for delays in your commute tomorrow morning, and be sure to allow extra time and patience to get where you’re going. The fog should mix out by mid-morning, and temperatures will head toward the mid-70s under partly cloudy skies as a result. Warm and rain-free conditions continue for Thursday into Friday, and another round of morning fog or two is probably not off the table, either. A front will get through later Friday, but it should pass with just a few showers at most. This will knock temperatures back into the 60s for the weekend with a mix of clouds and sun.
Our next rain chance arrives tomorrow as a strong cold front moves through the area. Expect a band of showers and maybe a few rumbles of thunder to roll through the area roughly from sunrise to mid-afternoon. (Exact timing of these lines can be a bit of a challenge, hence the range.) While wind shear will be decent, instability will be sorely lacking, and so there’s very little concern for any severe weather from this system (unlike what folks in Louisiana and Mississippi have seen this evening). We won’t get a whole lot of rain this go-around, either — generally expect a tenth to a quarter-inch of rain, with slightly higher amounts around I-95 and points west. Temperatures will jump into the mid-70s early in the day with warm air pumping into the area ahead of the front.
Said front will lag the rain by a few hours, but it should get through around or after sunset Wednesday, yielding a much cooler day on Thursday. Expect highs in the upper 50s on Thursday despite almost full sunshine. It’ll be a little breezy, too, so you’ll want the hoodie or light jacket.
Temperatures rebound a little on Friday after starting in the low 40s. We’ll see highs top out in the mid-60s with a few more clouds in the area, but still plenty of sunshine and a little lighter winds to enjoy a nice Friday outdoor lunch. From there, the 70s return and hang around for a few days through the weekend into early next week — not exactly the most December-like way to start December, but that’s how things go around these parts.
Quiet weather continues for Tuesday before rain chances return for Wednesday as a cold front comes through. Temperatures on Tuesday start around normal in the mid-40s and will rebound nicely into the low 70s in the afternoon. Winds will be calmer, making that outdoor lunch a little easier, too. Overall, no complaints for Tuesday (weather-wise, anyway).
Here comes the warmest day of this week! A coastal trough will move inland during the day Tuesday, which will allow some warmer air to infiltrate the area from the Atlantic. It remains to be seen just how far inland this warmer air can penetrate; we could see some spots near I-95 run much cooler, possibly not getting out of the 50s.
Expect a scattering of showers in association with the aforementioned trough, but it won’t rain all day at any one location. A couple of the models want to bring some instability inland, but the thinking is that any thunder stays over the water. Aside from slick roads from the rain, not expecting much in the way of any hazards from tomorrow’s weather.
We have a busy few days of weather ahead of us as Tropical Storm Nicole makes landfall on Florida, perhaps as a hurricane, and then turns north and northeast to strafe the Carolinas with heavy rain, wind, and maybe even some severe weather.
