Lots of things going on weather-wise. But unfortunately, snow isn’t one of them…yet. Our weather today is cloudy and blustery with colder temperatures moving in. With this being the official First Day of Winter, it is also the shortest day of the year. Our weather has been a little on the mild side for the last few days, and that will continue through Christmas Day. Saturday should be a decent day with some sunshine and highs in the upper 40’s. Sunday will have just a slight chance for rain as a little disturbance passes by. Christmas Eve looks sunny with highs in the upper 40’s. Expect a chance for rain by Christmas Day and a high near 50. A major storm system approaches the region on Wednesday with a chance for showers and highs in the mid 50’s. Rain chances will really ramp up Thursday and Thursday night as this system arrives and finally impacts the area with a much greater chance for widespread rains.
As it looks now, this storm will pack a wallop with a full scale blizzard to the northwest and the possibility for strong to severe storms in our region, especially by Friday. Very cold air will attempt to drop south behind the storm, but the question is how far south and how fast. The magnitude of the cold air forecast to settle over the Central states may pose a problem for travelers trying to get home. Farther ahead, toward the days surrounding New Year’s Day, the same issues with the spread of cold air versus frequency of storms will continue. There are some indications of wintry weather during the New Year’s Holiday as well, but specifics are not know just yet. In our area, most of you should have reasonable weather for the Christmas holidays. But New Year’s may be a different story.