Cold Weather Continues. Wintry Precip Possible New Years Eve.

SOME ICE POSSIBLE SUNDAY

TODAY: High pressure across the southeast will lead to mostly sunny skies and chilly weather for us. Highs in the low to mid 40s. Overnight, mainly clear with lows in the low to mid 20s.

FRI/SAT: Sunny conditions continue with highs in the upper 40s and lower 50s. Overnight lows in the upper 20s.

NEW YEAR’S EVE: Very cold to round out 2017, with highs in the low 30s and overnight lows in the teens. The big story though is that models continue to indicate some moisture moving in along with bitter cold air, leading to some wintry precipitation. Unless we see some changes in the setup, I suspect those hoping for snow will be sorely disappointed. The moisture column is shallow, and it does not appear we will have enough moisture in the layer of the atmosphere (around -10°C to -18°C) to produce snow crystals. The moisture will sit below that temperature level, but it could very easily produce freezing drizzle, freezing rain, or ice pellets. Our impacts will greatly depend on surface air temperatures as well as how much moisture is available. It appears temperatures will be very near or right at freezing for most spots, and soil and pavement temperatures would remain above freezing. That would be great news for travel impacts. It also appears moisture would be meager for most of the area, with the highest QPF (total amount of precipitation to fall if melted into water) rather meager and centered over the southern half of our area. For now, it seems most likely impacts will be more limited, with any travel issues occurring on bridges and overpasses, but this kind of forecast can change very rapidly. Be sure to check back often to see what, if any changes have to be made.

NEW YEAR’S DAY: The bitter cold continues as we head into 2018. Sunny, with high temperatures hover around freezing, and overnight lows drop into the mid teens.

TUE/WED:  I suppose I could use the term “warmer”, but it feels wrong to put it that way. We remain sunny, with high temperatures slowly climbing into the mid to upper 30s, but it will still be  quite cold. Lows again drop into the teens Tuesday night.