12:15 PM | “An island of warmth in an ocean of cold”…big changes coming early next week
Discussion
After possible record-breaking warmth on Sunday in the I-95 corridor, big changes are coming early next week that will bring a return to an overall cold weather pattern likely to last right into 2014. A strong cold front will drift slowly southeastward on Monday and it’ll get hung up along the east coast as low pressure develops along a rather tight temperature gradient frontal boundary zone. Periods of rain are likely on Monday as colder air slowly filters into the Mid-Atlantic region. There is even a small chance that the rain changes to light snow before ending on Monday night in areas north of the PA/MD border as the cold air finally makes a significant push into the region.
Tuesday (Christmas Eve) is looking like it’ll be a far cry from Sunday which will be the culmination of the current warm spell. In fact, temperatures on Tuesday will do no better than the 30’s for highs in most Mid-Atlantic locations after possibly reaching the 70 degree mark on Sunday. There will also be a noticeable chilly breeze later Tuesday and an upper-level disturbance threatens to bring some snow shower activity to portions of the Mid-Atlantic region. The cold weather will be firmly entrenched in the region by the time Christmas morning rolls around and numerous Arctic air outbreaks are in the offing as we close out the month of December and begin 2014. In fact, the GFS computer forecast model has been consistently generating brutal Arctic air outbreaks at the end of the month and into the first week of 2014 for the northern US and, given the overall weather pattern, this is quite believable.
7:00 AM | Very mild weekend, but colder air returns for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly cloudy, very mild, highs near 60 degrees
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, mild, lows near 45 degrees
Saturday
Mostly cloudy, even milder, mid 60’s
Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy, mild, upper 50’s
Sunday
Mostly cloudy, very mild, showers likely later in the day and at night, cannot rule out a thunderstorm, low 70’s
Monday
Mostly cloudy, turning cooler, showers still possible, low-to-mid 50’s
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, colder, near 40
Wednesday
Partly sunny, cold, near 40
Discussion
Our major warm up will peak on Sunday afternoon with high temperatures on that day likely reaching the 70 degree mark. A strong cold front will increase our chances for showers on Sunday; especially, during the latter part of the day and at night. That threat of showers will continue into Monday as well as cooler air filters into the region. By Tuesday (Christmas Eve), the cold air will be firmly established around here and high temperatures will be close to 40 degrees and that chill will continue on Christmas Day. Looking ahead, a cold pattern is quite likely as we close out the month of December and begin the new year.
Video
7:00 AM | 70+ degrees likely on Sunday; much colder air returns by Christmas Eve (Tuesday)
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly sunny, milder, highs near 55 degrees
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, chilly, lows near 40 degrees
Friday
Partly sunny, even milder, near 60
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy, cool, near 45
Saturday
Mostly cloudy, very mild, low-to-mid 60’s
Sunday
Mostly cloudy, very mild, rain likely, low 70’s
Monday
Mostly cloudy, colder, showers still possible, low 50’s
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, even colder, near 40
Discussion
A major warmup has begun and it will culminate on Sunday afternoon with high temperatures likely to reach the lower 70s. The mild weather will also bring some shower activity to the region with an increasing threat as the weekend progresses and fog could break out given the combination of the milder air and still-cold grounds. The mild weather will come to an end early next week following the passage of a strong cold front. Much colder air begins to filter into the region on Monday, but will be fully felt around here by Christmas Eve (Tuesday). Highs on Tuesday and Wednesday (Christmas Day) will likely be confined to near 40 degrees. Longer term, there are signs for very cold weather as we close out the month of December and begin the new year.
Video
7:00 AM | Big warmup coming with 60+ degrees on both weekend days
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly sunny, breezy, cold, highs near 40 degrees
Tonight
Partly cloudy, quite cold, lows upper 20's
Thursday
Mostly sunny, milder, near 50
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy, chilly, mid-to-upper 30’s
Friday
Partly sunny, milder, mid-to-upper 50’s
Saturday
Mostly cloudy, very mild, chance for showers, low 60’s
Sunday
Mostly cloudy, very mild, rain likely, mid-to-upper 60’s
Monday
Cloudy, colder, more showers possible, low-to-mid 50's
Discussion
Our active weather pattern of recent days will finally settle down for the next few days and we’ll experience a significant warm up by the weekend. Unfortunately, the warmup is going to come with some rain attached to it, but temperatures should actually reach 60+ degrees by the time Sunday afternoon rolls around which will, of course, cause a massive meltdown of our current snowcover. A cold front will usher in colder air early next week after the wet and mild weekend and this will make for a quite cold Christmas Eve and a chilly Christmas Day.
Seasonal Forecasts
PHL Current Conditions
WMA Current Conditions
NYC Current Conditions
Denver Current Conditions
LA Current Conditions
Current Weather Maps
Favorite Weather Links
- e-WALL (courtesy of Penn State Department of Meteorology)
- LiveWeatherBlogs.com
- PhillyWeather.net
- Washington Post CWG
About Paul Dorian
Paul Dorian, meteorologist with the SI, provides detailed forecasts for employee locations in the Mid-Atlantic region. Learn more...Home Run Weather
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