Back to school, back to work, and back to battling a stinging wind as wind chill values run 0 to -10 this morning. Not only are the winds strong, they are strong enough to warrant a wind advisory until 7pm for gusts 40-50mph. High temps struggle to reach the mid 20s this afternoon, but with the cold wind, will feel like single digits all day.
While the wind is not as strong tonight and tomorrow, it’ll still be windy, with gusts to near 30mph. Temps tomorrow are a bit milder too, near 30. That’ll take the edge of the cold by just a little.
The pattern is dry and cold through Friday, bullish for backyard skating rinks staying rock solid. Bearish for those wanting some of that December warmth back. Hey, at least we don’t have to shovel cold… well…. we need the cold to get snow in here, and the potential is certainly there by Saturday.
This weekend potential… The storm we’re watching for now is in the Pacific Ocean. That energy (and other pieces of the puzzle) needs to move into western North America and eventually dive into the Southeast U.S. before developing into a powerful Nor’easter. That’s a long ways to travel, thus it’s too early to start drawing up snow total maps around here. I am confident that a Nor’easter will form off the Carolina/mid-Atlantic coastline and hammer parts of the Eastern Seaboard down there with snow, rain, wind and coastal flooding. What’s still yet to be determined is exactly how far north the coastal low will move. While most model guidance suggests a far enough northerly track to bring in significant snow, wind and coastal flooding potential, there are some solutions within model land that suggest it’s still plausible for the brunt of this storm to sneak out south of us. Right now, I’d lean toward a stormy Saturday and Saturday night with the snow and wind potential, but it’s too early to say that it’s set in stone. If you have plans for Saturday and Saturday night, keep an eye on the forecast knowing that those plans may need to change. For the better or for the worse, we should see more clarity in the forecast on what to expect over the next day or two.
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