WEATHER BLOG: Chilly Weekend
--We have roughly 48 hours or so where it will feel like winter this weekend before near-record and record warmth returns again by the middle of next week just prior to Christmas! Even though it will feel very windy and cold this weekend, we of course are just getting knocked back down to near normal temps. over the weekend.....but of course since BWI is +8.9 on the month so far everything is relative and it feels much colder than it actually is relative to the time of year.
--Upper trough swinging through right now early this morning caused some flurries in the Baltimore area earlier. These should be winding down now with the trough axis going through and any flurries and snow showers for the rest of the day would likely be confined to the higher terrain of far western MD.
--Current surface map for today shows high pressure centered off to the W and SW with low pressure well off to the north N of Newfoundland, so we have a brisk and cold W to NW flow today around the upper low centered to our north. So, this is pushing in seasonably cold air into the region along with lake effect snow showers and squalls in the typical areas downwind of the Great Lakes today into at least the first part of
tonight.
--Just as quick as winter comes, it begins to depart tomorrow and Monday as high pressure shifts off to our east and we see return flow from the S and SW kick in once again by the end of the day tomorrow and then continue into Monday. Temps. do not rise much tomorrow but the wind will be much less, so tomorrow still 'feels milder' than today without the biting W wind we will have today.
--The trend upward in our temps. really begins on Monday with SW flow at all levels of the atmosphere out ahead of a boundary. We will see a mix of clouds and sun Monday (probably more clouds PM) and then the chance for some showers Mon. night into Tuesday. The boundary approaches from the W and NW Mon. night but never really makes it through as it weakens on it approach, so S to SW flow continues to dominate Tues. into Wed. which promotes near record warmth on Wed. and Christmas Eve!
--Despite clouds around on Wednesday and a bit of rain, strong southerly flow straight from the Gulf of Mexico will promote yet another damp and mild December day! Thursday should also be a warm day with a few showers or a bit of rain around as yet another cool front approaches from the west. Right out ahead of the front on Thursday, we could easily reach 70+ which would demolish the old record of 65 and be nearly 30
degrees above normal for this time of year!
--Drying out on Friday for Christmas Day behind the front, but with the air mass behind the front being of Pacific origins yet again, there is no real cold air behind the system and temps. remain well above normal. Highs on Fri. look to be a few degrees on either side of 60, so still roughly 15 degrees above normal by late December standards!
