Eyewitness News Storm Team Weather

JIM BARACH'S OUTLOOK
FROM THE STORM TEAM WEATHER CENTER

Wintry Weather...Except For Wednesday...

Our cold and wet weather pattern will continue through most of this week into next weekend, with the strong exception being Wednesday. That is the day to plan any outdoor activities as we will be looking at mostly sunny skies with highs in the 50s. That doesn't sound all that warm, and is pretty close to normal for this time of year but considering how the rest of the week is shaping up it will feel balmy! Other than on Wednesday, high temperatures will stay in the 30s and 40s all thr way through the weekend and well into next week with rain or snow showers being the story on most days.

Tonight: Skies will be cloudy as a weather system moves through the region keeping the temperature cold and bringing some snow showers with it. Snow totals should be light with lowlands making it to an inch at best, and the mountains picking up anywhere from one to four inches. The overnight low temperature in Charleston will drop to a chilly 28 degrees. With temperatures staying below freezing, black ice could definitely be a problem with the morning commute on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday: Snow showers should end early Tuesday morning with the sun coming out by the afternoon. The cold start to the day and only partial sunshine will make for a chilly afternoon with the high temperature struggling to hit 38 degrees. Mountain areas will stay even colder as the snow cover will reflect back much of the sunlight making it more difficult to warm the air overhead.

Wednesday: Another cold front will be approaching the area on Wednesday. Ahead of the cold front a strong southwesterly flow will develop which will bring in much warmer air. We will also have abundant sunshine ahead of the system so the high temperature will make it to 54 degrees. That is barely above normal for this time of year but considering what we have experience the past few weeks, it will feel pretty mild. However, wind gusts of 15-25 mph will make it feel cooler than the temperature indicates. The sunshine will offset the wind somewhat to make for a mostly comfortable day.

Thursday: The cold front will come into play on Thursday with rain showers starting early. We could easily pick up between a quarter to a half inch of rainfall from this system before the front pushes through and the cold air starts to turn the rain over to snow. Thursday's high temperature will make it to an early 42 degrees and then will fall through the afternoon. The rain should change over to snow Thursday evening which could make for a slippery commute home Thursday afternoon.

Friday: Snow showers will fall through Friday morning which will mean we could have another tricky commute on Friday morning. The air mass overhead will be cold, with the high temperature only making it to 31 degrees. The mercury will tumble to a low of 20 degrees Friday night and could even fall into the teens. Snowfall totals will be light as there will not be much of an upslope component to the storm with mostly westerly winds. Mountain areas, of course could pick up a few inches but lowlands will see a dusting to an inch at best.

Saturday: Skies will be mostly cloudy with a few more snow showers as another cold front passes through on Saturday. The high temperature will make it to 38 degrees with some afternoon sunshine. Snowfall totals will again be light.

Sunday: Skies will become partly cloudy on Sunday as high pressure builds in briefly. The high temperature will recover somewhat to 43 degrees with another storm system making its way into the region on Monday.

Monday: The approaching cold front will be a southern stream system, mwaning it will be moving in from the south with a considerably warmer air mass. Skies will be mostly cloudy and there will be rain showers, with the high temperature making it up to a seasonable 48 degrees.

Tuesday: As the storm system track to the east, it will pull down some cooler air from the north behind it. Rain showers could change back to snow with the high temperature cooling a bit to 40 degrees.

Wednesday: High pressure will take over again on Wednesday with the mercury rising to 48 degrees despite mostly cloudy skies. This may signal a warming trend for the region which will come as a relief to many people who feel the wintry conditions have already been with us a bit too long at one stretch!

Thursday: Skies will be partly cloudy with a southwesterly flow pushing the temperature back into above normal range with a high of 52 degrees.

One Final Note: November was an interesting month. After starting off with seven straight days in the 70s, we quickly saw the cold conditions take over. Even after the warm start, the average temperature for the month came in at 2.6 degrees below normal. After the seven straight days in the 70s, we saw three days in the 60s, six days in the 50s, seven days in the 40s and a week's worth of days with highs only in the 30s!

--Jim Barach
Chief Meteorologist
12/1/08

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