The last weekend of 2024 looks wet

This week's Drought Monitor continues to show persistent dry conditions across Virginia. Mecklenburg county is actually split almost in half, with western sections shown as "Abnormally Dry" while the eastern part is in "Moderate Drought". That may change in next week's graphic after this weekend's rainfall.

Strong high pressure over New England has forced a wedge of low level cool air southward, creating yet another cold air damming (CAD) situation east of the Appalachian mountains. Cloudy skies and northeasterly breezes are the result for Mecklenburg county today (Friday). Since these CAD setups are notoriously difficult to dislodge, this afternoon's temperatures may not climb all the way to the official forecast high in the mid-40s.

A storm system over the Mississippi valley is pumping warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico up and over that low level wedge. That will result in a chance of light showers this afternoon and tonight. Saturday will then dawn under cloudy skies with temperatures near 40º. There may be some fog around the county tomorrow morning, and rain chances will slowly increase as the day progresses. As the CAD wedge slowly lifts northward Saturday afternoon highs look to top out in the mid-50s.

Sunday then looks to be very damp as the aforementioned storm system crosses the Ohio valley and nears the mountains. Rain intensity will increase across the county during the afternoon and evening hours. Meanwhile, gusty south winds will pump in much warmer air ahead of the cold front associated with that storm system. Highs on Sunday will top out in the mid-60s.

Expected precipitation totals through Monday morning are shown on this graphic:

The heavier rain late Sunday may even feature some rumbles of thunder(!) as the cold front moves through.