This would be cold for January!

Monday morning's low temperatures in Mecklenburg county dipped into the mid- and upper 20s as Arctic air moved in behind Sunday evening's cold front. Those readings will struggle to climb into the low 40s this afternoon despite bright sunshine. That's cold even by January standards! The "good" news is that winds will remain relatively light in the 5-7 mph range.

Tonight clouds will move in before midnight as a short wave trough approaches from the west. These upper air features are small wrinkles on the bigger long wave troughs which characterize the jet stream flow:

The red dashed line is a long wave trough which dips southward, bringing cooler air and fostering large storm systems. The blue dashed lines are the "wrinkles", i.e. short wave troughs superimposed on the bigger long wave. These short waves create comparatively small areas of disturbed weather. During Virginia's winter these are often known as "Alberta clippers" as they scoot southeastward out of Canada.

Tonight's short wave trough passage will just bring clouds to Mecklenburg county, with no precipitation expected. Behind it more cold air looks to pour into the region, keeping Tuesday afternoon temperatures in the low 40s again. Tuesday night will be downright frigid, with local thermometers registering in the mid-teens(!) by dawn Wednesday.

Keep those coats and gloves handy!