A Sunny Weekend; Skiff of Snow Late Mon
Good morning folks! The sun is breaking through most of the region as clouds begin to dissipate but we'll continue to see clouds hang along the TN line for a good portion of the day. Eventually all of SW NC will be under mostly sunny skies before sunset, followed by clear skies tonight, coupled with calm winds and a light snowpack (in spots), temps dip into the teens for many. Sunday maintains fair weather conditions with mostly sunny skies overhead and noticeably warmer temps compared to today, followed by a gradual uptick in cloud cover overnight into Monday. Our next round of snow moves in Monday afternoon but this event will be very light and much like the last event, only impact the higher elevations as the valleys struggle with temps just above freezing Monday night. So far the models are only pointing to a skiff of snow for the higher elevations above 3000' and this is likely not to change, with all precip ending by the mid morning hours on Tuesday. It'll take most of the day on Tuesday to clear out the mid - high levels clouds and temps will hold to seasonal levels for mid January. Wednesday and Thursday bring sunny skies back to the region and we are eyeing the Friday - Saturday timeframe for another round of rain and snow, as an upper level trough swings numerous fronts our way.
Temps today (Saturday) will struggle to rise out of the low 30's for the higher elevations, while the valleys push into the low 40's under clearing skies. Winds calm down tonight and with clear skies overhead, temps will bottom out to the mid - upper teens for most of the region.
Sunday will be a nice end to the weekend with more sunshine and temps warming to the upper 30's - upper 40's depending upon elevation. Partly cloudy skies develop overnight into Monday, capping temps to the low - upper 20's across the region.
Clouds are expected to fill in Monday morning and a low pressure system to our south will push moisture into the area as early as the mid afternoon hours, peaking in coverage overnight into Tuesday; high temps on Monday reach the mid 30's - low 40's depending upon elevation. The valleys will experience a rain/snow mix throughout the night, becoming all snow just before sunrise but we need to stress that coverage and precip amounts will be very light, translating to mainly token flakes with no accumulations for the valleys. If you live above 3000' then you will likely see all snow throughout the short lived event and with temps in the upper 20's across the higher elevations the chance exist for light accumulations ranging from a dusting to an inch. As of Saturday morning it seems the only travel impacts will be for elevations above 4000', well above most of the mountain gaps we travel daily.
Snow showers end Tuesday morning and clouds will take their time clearing the region, helping to hold temps to the mid 30's - mid 40's depending upon elevation. Overnight lows settle into the low - upper 20's depending upon elevation, with clear skies overhead by the pre dawn hours.
Wednesday and Thursday both offer a nice break in the action and with mostly sunny skies overhead, temps will push into the upper 30's - upper 40's Wednesday and upper 30's - low 50's Thursday! We'll only mention the possibility for snow Friday into Saturday and wait till roughly Monday or Tuesday before diving into details. Our next discussion comes out Monday morning.