Sunshine Returns Sunday; Freeze next Thursday?!?
Good morning folks! It's a cloudy and cool day across the region with a few light showers traversing the region, expected to wind down by the evening hours. By the way, its snowing on Mt LeConte! This shouldn't last long but still something worth noting. Sunday wraps up the weekend in style with more sunshine than cloud cover throughout the day, which is a change from our previous discussion, although we do expect a few hours of high, thin clouds but temps should be able to rebound nicely compared to today. Temps warm a few degrees higher on Monday under more sunshine and moisture returns to the region Tuesday, with a slight chance for showers later in the day, but nothing more than a handful of light showers are expected. A cold front crosses the region Wednesday with another round of light showers likely and temps will be noticeably cooler than Tuesday, struggling to reach the low 60's across the valleys. A freeze is possible Wednesday night as temps plummet to the 20's and 30's across the region, setting up a regionwide frost/freeze by sunrise on Thursday. Temps slowly moderate Thursday into next weekend and for now we are going with mostly sunny skies but this could change as confidence in the forecast drops after Friday.
No more than a quarter inch of rain will fall across the region and its possible only a tenth of an inch falls, but this is splitting hairs because both totals equate to sprinkles and light showers. Coverage will be scattered through the early afternoon hours and then drop to zero as we approach the early evening hours. Temps will hold to the mid 40's above 5500', while the valleys warm to the low 60's. Overnight lows settle into the mid 30's - low 40's depending upon elevation and the lower elevations will be spared from any patchy frost, while those who live above 3500' experience patchy frost by sunrise.
Sunday now features more sunshine than cloud cover and it will feel very spring-like outside as temps warm to the low 50's - upper 60's depending upon elevation. High clouds may stream overhead for a few hours but we do not expect any showers to develop. Overnight lows settle into the mid 30's - low 40's under partly cloudy skies, with another elevation dependent frost setup going into Monday morning.
Monday will be dry, sunny, and warm as temps hit the upper 50's - low 70's depending upon elevation, followed by overnight lows in the upper 30's - mid 40's under partly cloudy skies. Tuesday features high, thin clouds and the occasional light shower with temps holding to the mid 50's - upper 60's and overnight lows hit the repeat button, settling into the upper 30's- mid 40's once again.
Wednesday into Thursday is not set in stone but confidence is increasing a cold front will cross the region, sparking light showers to develop but the main event will be the cold air advection on the heels of the departing front. Temps Wednesday will certainly be noticeably cooler, only reaching the mid 40's - upper 50's but the overnight lows steal the show as they plummet to the 20's above 4000' and low 30's across the valleys. This should prompt a regionwide freeze or a frost at a minimum (assuming winds calm down), so continue to hold back on putting your sensitive plants outside for another week or two.
We'll circle back on Monday with more details about the upcoming cold snap and shower chances Tuesday into Wednesday. ENJOY!