Steve signing in at 8:45 AM. Overcast with fog and drizzle across the area this morning. The only freezing temperature I found was at Black Mountain with 32°, otherwise most other reporting stations were in the upper 30s and well above freezing. Exercise caution if traveling from McDowell into Buncombe Counties and on the higher elevation routes of NW Burke, McDowell and Caldwell Counties, otherwise road conditions should be fine but visibilities may be low at times this morning. Overcast, drizzly conditions continue throughout the day today with highs only around 40°. Drizzle continues into the evening and overnight with steadier rains moving in on Tuesday ahead of a system developing to our west and south. At the same time a cool air wedge will stay solidly in place so our temperatures will not change until at least daybreak on Christmas Eve. Expect low to mid 40s throughout the period. The wedge finally begins to erode on Wednesday as southerly flow takes over ahead of an intensifying trough and cold front over the Tennessee Valley. How quickly the wedge erodes depends on which forecast model you follow. I prefer the short range model which seems to have the most realistic approach to stubborn cold air damming regimes in the Carolinas. Thus, we stay in the 40s Christmas Eve until later in the afternoon, when temperatures rise into the upper 50s. We can expect showery rains and gusty winds Wednesday afternoon and while I cant rule out a stray thunderstorm, I think storm chances will be greater well to our south and east. Cold front moves through later Wednesday evening with clearing skies along the I-40 corridor and a few snow showers in the mountains. Christmas Day should be mostly sunny and seasonably cold with highs around 50°. We warm up the day after Christmas but cool down again for the weekend as another front moves through. About the only precipitation we can expect from this front would be a few mountain snow showers. For those of you traveling on Christmas Eve, here are a few destination forecasts: Pittsburgh PA - Showers, 59° Cleveland OH - Showers, 52° Cincinnati OH - Showers, 52° Washington DC - Rain, 61° Atlanta GA - Showers, storm possible, 62° Orlando FL - Showers, storm possible, windy 78° Knoxville TN - Showers, storm possible, 58° St Louis MO - Rain and snow, 38°
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 13:58:18 +0000
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