Weekend winter mischief?

Today - Friday - looks to be the most pleasant weather day over the next week or so. Boydton won the prize for the warmest start to the morning with a reading of 30º, while other stations recorded lows in the mid- to upper 20s. Sunshine, light winds, and decent January temperatures will prevail across Mecklenburg county, with afternoon highs climbing into the upper 40s.

Saturday will feature decent temperatures with a daily high near 50º, but clouds and occasional showers will mar the weather picture as a cold front approaches from the west. Liquid amounts in local rain gauges will only total up to perhaps a tenth of an inch. The skies will begin clearing by midafternoon for a view of the sunset at 5:25 pm.

Tomorrow night is when things get interesting. The aforementioned cold front will stall out over the Carolinas as a low pressure center forms along it. Sunday then looks to be cloudy with more precipitation and highs only near 40º.  The exact track of that low is still coming into focus, but at the moment it looks to set up a rain/snow line mostly north of Mecklenburg county. Here's the official National Weather Service Wakefield office snow forecast through Monday morning:

After that system clears off the coast Sunday night the coldest air of the winter will settle into the region. The first half of next week will see plenty of sunshine, but temperatures aren't likely to climb above the freezing mark until sometime Thursday. Morning lows will flirt with the single digits. The cold is coming!