Sunny and Warm through Wednesday
Good Morning Folks! The rain event is over and clouds are beginning to thin, however light showers continue to pepper the TN line as NW flow slowly winds down as the low pressure system moves northeast. Rainfall totals for the past three days amount to 0.50 - 1" for most of the interior valleys, while the Southern Highlands Plateau picked up 2 plus inches; Highlands reported the highest total at 3.15". Sunshine will return tomorrow and linger through Wednesday, with a dry front moving through Tuesday that may cool temps a bit, but overall we remain a handful of degrees above average. Moisture returns late Wednesday with light showers breaking out Thursday and if the models have it figured out, it looks like showers linger into Friday with drier weather returning by Saturday, but take anything Friday and beyond with a grain of salt. There is a chance for high elevation snow along the TN line and nearby ridgelines Thursday night and Friday night, with light accumulations and the main take home that this change signals snowmaking temps returning to the slopes late next week. All in all, not a bad setup for the last week of work and school before the holidays.
Passing high clouds today will be thicker closer to the TN line and thin out substantially as one drives toward the SC state line, with temps responding, only reach the low 40's - low 50's depending upon elevation. As we mentioned above the Smokies and nearby ridgelines will deal with intermittent light showers today that will dry up this evening and as clouds clear, temps will dip into the upper 20's - mid 30's.
Monday through Wednesday keeps sunny skies overhead, with some possible late day clouds on Wednesday and temps will push into the mid 50's along the valley floor and mid - upper 40's for the ridgelines. Overnight lows will be colder in the valleys than across the ridgelines due to radiational cooling, setting up an inversion with temps in the valleys touching the upper 20's , while the ridgelines enjoy the mid - upper 30's. Clouds fill in Wednesday night, so the possibility for a 5 - 8 degree inversion might not be as strong as Monday or Tuesday night.
Thursday brings light - moderate showers to the region that will carry over into Friday, eventually drying out sometime Friday night or Saturday morning. We will simply mention the possibility for light snow accumulations Thursday and Friday night for the NW flow favored areas and wait till Wednesday morning to provide specifics.
Our next discussion will come out Tuesday mid morning.