Showers Late Saturday into Monday
Good morning folks! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. The weather was certainly nice, albeit not normal for late December, but still pleasant for those traveling and wanting to spend time outdoors. We'll enjoy three more pleasant days with temps well above normal and dry conditions throughout the region, followed by showers developing late Saturday evening. Widespread showers make up the action Sunday and Sunday night, with precip winding down just before sunrise on Monday. Sunshine returns Monday and temps will cool down to a handful of degrees above normal, with winter-like conditions still absent from the 5 - 7 day forecast; sorry snow lovers.
Clouds move in Thursday night and stick around through Friday and Saturday, as the low pressure slowly moves across the Midwest. Southerly flow ramps up ahead of the frontal passage, which is slated for Saturday night - early Sunday morning. Because of the increase in southerly flow, temps will hold to the upper 40's - low 50's along the ridgelines, while the valleys enjoy temps in the low 60's. Overnight lows will also be noticeably warmer, as temps settle into the low - mid 40's Friday night and upper 40's - low 50's Saturday night.
The front moves in late Saturday night, with a handful of light showers breaking out along the SC state line just before sunset, ramping up to widespread coverage during the pre dawn hours Sunday. Showers continue into Sunday and eventually wind down after midnight, with up to 2" of rain possible across the entire region; highest amounts found along the SC state line. Temps Sunday continue to climb to the low 50's - mid 60's depending upon elevation and dip to the upper 30's - low 40's overnight into Monday; no snow on the back-end.
Monday and Tuesday will bring sunshine back to the region and temps cool down to the upper 30's - low 40's along the ridgelines, warming to the low - mid 50's across the valleys each afternoon.
We'll circle back Saturday morning with a new discussion and focus on the immediate rain event and looking at the New Year's Eve timeframe.