Could P. Phil be right about 6 more weeks of winter?

That underground rodent up north in Pennsylvania saw his shadow this Sunday morning, which is supposedly the harbinger of six more weeks of winter. Unfortunately - for him! - P. Phil's forecast accuracy is worse than a 50/50 coin flip. He's been correct only about a third of the time. Of course, even though it's been warmer than average the past few days it's never wise to count out wintry weather this early in February.

Mecklenburg county is in the grip of a cold air damming setup today. That's illustrated in this morning's surface weather map:

High pressure centered over New England is driving a shallow wedge of cool air southward along the Piedmont and east of the Appalachian mountains. The clockwise circulation around the high will keep clouds around Mecklenburg county most of the day as low level moisture is pulled in off the cold Atlantic waters. Temperatures will top out in the upper 40s this afternoon.

This particular cold air damming version appears to move out quicker than usual as an active jet stream up over the Great Lakes region scoots that high pressure well off the New England coast tonight. Thus instead of a stubborn cold air damming wedge hanging around keeping conditions gloomy and cool for several days, the beginning of the work week looks to feature clearing skies and warm southwesterly winds. Monday afternoon thermometer readings around the county will boost into the mid-60s.

The remainder of the week will continue to be warmer than average with the exception of Wednesday when more rain will move into the region. That liquid is very much needed to help alleviate the chronically dry conditions across Southside Virginia.