Colder, but no wintry weather anytime soon

Winter's chill is knocking on Mecklenburg County's doorstep yet again. After today - Wednesday - mild weather will become scarce for a while. A series of Arctic fronts are on the way, with the next one due into the area after midnight tonight. Ahead of the boundary clouds will dominate the skies today, with temperatures topping out in the mid-50s this afternoon.

Behind this next cold front winds will abruptly swing around out of the northwest, ushering in much cooler and drier air. There could be a few scattered showers tonight, but Thursday will dawn under sunny skies as temperatures dip into the mid-20s. Those northwesterly breezes will be in the 15-20 mph range, gusting up to 25 mph. 

Meanwhile, thermometers will only climb into the mid-30s tomorrow. That will bring wind chill into the weather discussion, with local values illustrated on this chart by the white circle:

No wintry weather is in the forecast since the cold air won't meet up with any moisture of note. That situation looks to continue in the current weather pattern, so take any claims of big winter storms over the next week with a huge grain of salt. Folks craving to see and experience the white stuff should head to the West Virginia mountains, where lake effect snows will be in full force closer to the Great Lakes.

At the moment the upcoming weekend forecast appears to be chilly and dry. Friday's blog post will take a closer look.