Snow for northern Virginia late Friday, but none locally

During the wee hours of this Friday morning a dry cold front swept across Mecklenburg county. Its chief impact on local weather conditions has been to lower the moisture content of the air. Today will wind up seasonable, with partly sunny skies and afternoon highs in the mid-50s.

A low pressure system is already developing along that boundary over the southern Plains states. That feature will quickly scoot eastward today, crossing almost overhead Mecklenburg county just after midnight as shown on this forecast map:

Note the blue and purple shading indicating wintry precipitation north of the low pressure center. The rain/snow line roughly corresponds to the I-64 corridor, with a few inches of white stuff expected north of that highway very late tonight. However, the small amount of precipitation (less than one-tenth of an inch of liquid) that will dampen Mecklenburg county tonight will arrive as all rain.

Saturday will begin under cloudy skies which will quickly clear away during the morning hours. Despite the sunshine temperatures behind this low pressure system will be cool, with afternoon readings only in the upper 40s. The chilly feeling will be accentuated by northwest winds gusting up to 20 mph. Sunday will be sunny as well, with slightly warmer temperatures and less breezy conditions.

Speaking of the sun, it is rising earlier and earlier, peeking above the horizon at 7:00 a.m. Sunday. And next Tuesday, February 20th, the sunset time will reach 6:00 p.m. as it occurs later each day. The daylight hours are rapidly increasing as spring approaches!