Cold temperatures and wintry precipitation are knocking on the door

Friday morning lows around Mecklenburg county were generally in the upper 20s, with the exception of a 31 degree reading at the South Hill airport. There was a 36º minimum at the Kerr Reservoir dam, but that sensor is influenced by the warmer lake water nearby. Today will feature highs in the upper 40s for the area ahead of a strong cold front which will push through the area during the midafternoon.

Under mostly cloudy skies a few showers may pop up as that boundary moves through today, but most of the area will be dry. Cold air will surge into the county on northwest winds behind the front. Gusts up to 30 mph are likely overnight, and given much drier air the temperatures will sink into the lower 20s by dawn Saturday. Wind chills will be 5-10 degrees cooler than that.

Tomorrow then looks to be sunny, breezy, and chilly with temperatures topping out only in the mid-30s and wind chills in the low to mid-20s. That's roughly 15 degrees below average for the first weekend of January. By Sunday morning local thermometers will drop to near 20º, with some areas seeing the teens by sunrise. Then the "fun" begins.

A storm system still approaching the Pacific Northwest as this blog is written will zoom across the nation over the weekend, pushed along by strong jet stream winds. That system will usher in a mixed bag of precipitation locally starting Sunday afternoon. These graphics from the National Weather Service office in Wakefield provide an idea of how much ice and/or snow could result by Monday morning:

It would be wise to pay attention to road conditions late Sunday afternoon and evening. By mid-morning Monday the wintry stuff will change to all rain as temperatures warm above the freezing mark. However, the cold will stick around most of next week, so keep that winter gear handy!