It was really different coming into work this morning. It was flat-out warm outside with temperatures sitting in the 60s.
We are on the warm side of a powerful cold front today, but that front is marching in our direction.
It has already caused huge problems in many states due to heavy snow, ice, and extreme cold. Indirectly, we will be impacted by it via cancelled flights, delivery disruptions, and tough travel to the north or west.
We will be too warm for any wintry weather here today. Southwest winds have already pushed temps into the 60s with a couple of 70s. We’ll be near 70 today with some low 70s inland and south.
Clouds and rain will cap the temps a bit. Rain will keep increasing into the afternoon. It will become widespread for a while. It could also become briefly heavy when the cold front comes in. Temps will drop to the low 40s by the evening commute.
So take a rain jacket today as you go out. It should be able to handle the wind. Also, take an extra layer if you are working into the evening. Temps will drop to the 30s by the mid-late evening hours.
Winds are out of the southwest today. They will gust up to 30mph. They will turn out of the north late this afternoon into the evening.
Tonight the rain will keep going, but it will become more scattered. As temps fall there will eventually be a scattered/light wintry mix. This should all melt as the ground will be wet and temps will be above freezing.
This should end before sunrise tomorrow. Before the rain ends we could see a half inch to an inch of rainfall.
Tomorrow the cold air will swarm over the region. High pressure will build in behind the cold front. We’ll have clearing skies. Winds will be out of the north. So high temps will only be in the mid-upper 30s in our area. It will be much colder to our northwest.
We’ll be in the 40s on Sunday with partly cloudy skies. There will be some more rain Monday into Tuesday. High temps will be in the 40s.
Here is one cool national story that came about over the last few days. A couple of years ago NASA satellites captured the the longest lightning flash ever recorded. The horizontal distance measured 477 miles. It took a while, but recently the World Meteorological Organization verified the results. Here is the article with more information: Longest lightning flash recorded and verified.
Meteorologist: Jeremy Wheeler