You may be reading this with the hopes that a fresh snowfall will blanket Hampton Roads just in time for Santa and his mighty crew to drop holiday cheer on Christmas. If you did, then I, a measly local meteorologist, am here to play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
And not the ‘post-haunted-now-changed-for-the-better-Scrooge’, I’m talkin’ about the bah-humbug Scrooge.
Yes, a late week storm system will bring the chance for winter weather across Hampton Roads, and it could very well be the first of the season, but the trend hasn’t been our friend lately.
First – let’s get through the next few days where it’ll remain chilly & dry. Tonight temperatures drop into the 20s so our Monday morning will be quite cold!
High pressure in control keeps things dry through Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday (before some clouds move in late Wednesday). Look for overnight lows in the 30s and afternoon highs in the 40s, a good amount of sunshine is in order as well.
Then, by the end of the week we welcome the way too complicated and eager storm system. On Thursday warmer air will surge into the region – high temperatures could reach 60°! Scattered showers will develop across Hampton Roads – as for the timing, that’s still up in the air. Could be an all day affair, could be just Thursday night or just the afternoon – we’ll iron out those details this week.
Showers will then be around on Friday before the cold air on the backside of this system comes crashing into the region. Depending on when it does will determine our potential for winter precipitation. As of now, that cold air comes in Friday night as the moisture is exiting the region, so significant snowfall is not looking likely, but a chance for snow to mix in Friday night is still a possibility.
This is, and will continue to be, a very fluid forecast so be sure to follow along for the changes each day this week as the Super Doppler 10 weather team gathers more details.
One thing is for sure, this system will bring the coldest air of the season so far – just in time for the holiday weekend. Christmas this year has the potential to be the coldest since 2013 with afternoon highs only in the 30s and overnight lows in the 20s!
Ice cold – just like Ebenezer’s attitude.
Meteorologist Steve Fundaro