Bright, Brisk and Chilly Weather Returns! Even Colder This Weekend!

Today: Sunshine with a Chilly Wind.  High: 49.

Tonight: Clear and Brisk. Low: 26, Wind Chills will make it feel colder!

Tomorrow: Sunshine to Start, then Clouds Increase. High: 46

Good Morning,

This morning's weather map is showing yesterday's storm that produced early morning rain in the Tri-State Area located near the coast of Maine... And, there is also a weaker disturbance (its lowest central pressure is about 1007 millibars, not the 995 millibars where the coastal storm is) located in the Ohio Valley...

We expect that second area of disturbed weather located well to the west (and its showers of rain and snow) to dive southeastward this morning before it 'washes out' over the central and southern Appalachians by early this afternoon... We'll have dry weather, and temperatures mostly in the 40s — expect a mixture of sun and clouds, too...

Under a clear sky this evening, temperatures should fall into the upper 30s in some outlying areas fairly quickly, but most of the larger cities will wind up in the mid and upper 30s after midnight...

Looking ahead to tomorrow, there should at least be some glimpses of sunshine early as a ridge of high pressure begins to retreat from the East Coast, drifting out into the western Atlantic...

Then, we will be turning the focus of our attention to the west once again, with high and mid level clouds associated with a wave of low pressure in the Plains states starting to increase and gradually thicken... As a result, most temperatures tomorrow afternoon will be in the mid 40s, and there should be very little, if any change in temperatures tomorrow night as the clouds eventually usher in rain...

The body of low pressure, which we've been talking about since the week began, is still expected to produce a tremendous amount of snow in Minnesota and Wisconsin during the next 36 hours, and it will even cause rain in Chicago tomorrow to change over to snow late in the day — followed by some accumulation tomorrow night and early Friday...

Conversely, with a warm front pressing northeastward through the eastern third of the nation, there will be a surge of somewhat milder air moving into the region — and it wouldn't be surprising at all if the temperature early on Friday morning climbed into the 50s for at least a while in southeastern New England, parts of New York and especially in the mid Atlantic states... However, that will also be a time when a decent slug of rain will be pushing northward, and the quantitative totals are still expected to be in the 0.75" to 1.50" range between 8 p.m. tomorrow and midday on Friday...

As the primary wave of low pressure tracks northeastward into Canada on Friday, there will be a secondary wave of low pressure forming early along the mid Atlantic coast, near the junction of the aforementioned warm front and a cold front that will be wrapping around the feature located in the Great Lakes...

This so-called "triple-point" wave is what we expect to enhance rainfall along the coastal plain late Thursday night and early on Friday before it, too starts its trek to the north and into Canada on Friday night... So, after a thorough soaking tomorrow night and early on Friday, drier air should eventually begin to filter into the area, spreading out across the area during the afternoon and bringing the sun out for at least a short while.

While the secondary feature is expected to bring a decent soaking to areas east of the Appalachians tomorrow night and early Friday, we must also be mindful of the fact that the barometric pressure field near it is going to prevent the wind from becoming very strong, or for strong gusts in excess of 35 or 40 mph, until that clears the area — and this won't happen until late on Friday afternoon or early Friday night...

So, our forecasts today will include a 'delay' in the mention of the onset of stronger winds, but they certainly will be ushering in noticeably colder air for Friday night and the upcoming weekend...

Even though lake effect snow squalls are expected to only blast western and central portions of New York State and Pennsylvania from late on Friday into Saturday, it is possible that a few snow flurries could get pushed all the way to the coastal plain — especially on Saturday... Weekend temperatures will be no higher than the lower 40s on Saturday, and most places will be hard pressed to get out of the 30s on Sunday...

A dry and chilly pattern is expected for the beginning of next week, while a major snow storm is expected to form in the southern Rockies late this weekend before reaching the central Plains during the upcoming Christmas holiday.

Have a good day!!!