BLOG: Staying Cold
Abundant cold air still lingers in the region early Thursday morning. However, winds today aren't going to be quite as strong or gusty as they have been recently, because a ridge of high pressure will be building into the East, albeit temporarily. Despite a good deal of sunshine, temperatures will be no higher than the low or mid-30s Thursday afternoon. That's something we've been predicting around here for the past few days. But we can also anticipate a trend of moderating temperatures Friday and during the upcoming weekend. And of course, Sunday is when the next important storm will be having an impact on our weather. (more about that in a moment)
About that 'clipper' Friday afternoon and evening. We've all but removed precipitation now completely from many of our forecasts in the mid-Atlantic states and for the coastal cities in the Northeast. So, while it will be rather cloudy here and most temperatures will only be in the upper-30s to near 40, it will also be dry. Saturday, most places will be in the lower or middle-40s, with some sun early fading behind increasing clouds. As the next storm approaches from the west late Saturday night and Sunday, there may be a period of light, spotty precipitation breaking out in the region prior to daybreak on Sunday.
With temperatures expected to be in the 30s during that time frame, some places could see a little snow or sleet before an eventual change to plain rain occurs on Sunday morning. Some sheltered valley locations, especially those which are located well inland from the coastal plain, will be the most susceptible to this -- and some untreated surfaces may be slick early Sunday morning.
The consensus which has been formed among the three, primary global models all show the initial wave of low pressure moving just to the north and west of the I-95 corridor on Sunday.
Some secondary, coastal development should occur in the afternoon... With a 'triple point' (the junction of a cold front, warm front and occluded front) likely located in a position over the Delmarva or in extreme South Jersey late Sunday afternoon, the numerical guidance keeps temperatures from getting out of the upper-40s around here. But EVEN IF the surface temperature fails to get out of the 40s on Sunday, it'll be warming up quickly enough aloft to support plain rain.
