A couple of Arctic cold fronts will turn this week sharply colder

Cold weather lovers in Mecklenburg county will rejoice in the arrival of an Arctic cold front this Sunday afternoon. These powerful fronts usher in air masses directly from the Arctic regions (hence the name!) as illustrated in this graphic:

Fortunately this air mass will have warmed a bit during its journey south to the Gulf Coast before filtering eastward into Virginia, so it won't be as cold this week locally as it could have been. 

Ahead of that boundary today's high temperature will top out in the low 50s under sunny skies. Winds will gust up to 30 mph, swinging around out of the northwest as the truly Arctic air arrives. Clouds will then build in tonight as an upper level disturbance approaches. 

A "wrinkle" in the jet stream will be reflected in a surface low pressure center developing along the cold front over the Carolinas. Despite the very dry air enough energy will be available to squeeze out some light precipitation on Monday, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. That moisture will result in a mixture of snow and rain tomorrow, with maybe up to a half-inch of white stuff accumulating on grassy surfaces. No shovels or plows will be needed for this event.

Tuesday will be cloudy with more light rain/snow showers during the first half of the day. The rest of the work week then looks to be sunny and colder, with a second Arctic front arriving Friday. That will reinforce the very cold and dry air just in time for next weekend. No significant winter storms are likely over the next seven days.