COLD NIGHTS AHEAD; AN EARLY LOOK AT THE CHRISTMAS FORECAST… We are starting a “cold snap” tonight AND we are looking ahead to the end of next week to what could be a very cold blast of Arctic air set to move in just in time for Christmas. First, you should know that temperatures will be cold over the next two mornings. Overnight lows on Thursday morning will be in the mid-30s across much of the area. By Friday morning, upper-20s are expected inland with temperatures near the freezing mark closer to the immediate coast. The bigger shot of cold air is likely to happen in about 8-10 days, which happens to be right around Christmas Day.
The graphic attached highlights the forecast air temperatures at 6AM on Friday.
NO SNOW OR MIXED PRECIPITATION IN THE FORECAST FOR CHRISTMAS… There was one run of one model a day or so ago that showed a small potential for some snow/mixed precipitation around the Deep South on or near Christmas Day. Let’s be clear in stating that solution is off the board, for now at least. Most of the model guidance has trended COLDER for Christmas Day, but no snow or mixed precip is noted in ANY of the model guidance as of now. I’ve seen outlandish model images floating around social media suggesting the potential for a big snow somewhere close by our region. That is simply not in the cards, as of now. What you can count on, however, appears to be cold air in place for Christmas Day. High temperatures look to be in the 40s and 50s, potentially, with morning lows in the 20s and 30s, perhaps. Christmas is still 8-9 days out, thus forecast confidence is currently LOW. We’ll keep watching trends over the next few days and bring you the latest in the morning forecast videos/discussions.
QUICK SUMMARY OF THE NEXT 7 DAYS… Clouds will likely move out tomorrow midday, giving way to sunshine by the end of the day on Thursday. Highs tomorrow (Thursday) will only be in the low-50s. Below freezing (upper-20s and near 30) temperatures are likely Friday morning. Sunny skies are likely Friday. Clouds will start increasing in coverage on Saturday ahead of a chance of rain setting up for Saturday night into Sunday. Most of the daytime hours on Saturday should be dry with highs in the low-60s. Sunday will feature a few showers ahead of another dry few days on Monday into Tuesday. Showers and storms may become possible Wednesday into Christmas Eve Thursday.
My next forecast update will be posted by 7:15AM on Thursday. See you in the morning!