Arctic air invades for Thanksgiving weekend

This Wednesday morning's clouds around Mecklenburg County will clear away after the first cold front of the day pushes through. Boydton "won" the precipitation sweepstakes with just over a quarter-inch of liquid collected in that gauge, while other locales had to settle for only a tenth of an inch or so. Temperatures overnight remained very warm, with the low 60s a popular number around the county.

Speaking of temperatures, today's highs will top out in the low 70s as the sun reappears behind that aforementioned cold front. However...a secondary front arriving after dark will then open the floodgates for an Arctic air invasion. Temperatures will plunge into the mid-30s overnight and remain chilly for 72 hours. This graphic illustrates the drop from today's highs to Friday's max temperatures across the eastern half of the nation:

Temperatures for those family get-togethers tomorrow will struggle to reach the 50º mark, accompanied by a brisk westerly wind. Friday's thermometer readings will be even lower, with afternoon highs only reaching the mid-40s along with continued gusty winds. Those are January-like figures!

Saturday will continue to feel the effects of the Arctic air, with daily highs again only in the mid-40s after frigid morning lows in the low 20s(!!). By Sunday milder air will begin to edge back into the county, pushing high temperatures back into the mid-50s for the end of November.

The next blogpost will be Sunday morning. Meanwhile, happy (chilly) Thanksgiving!