Hedging Bets on Weekend Weather
As predicted, the mass of cold, Arctic air is beginning to make its way south. This evening, a surface low is centered over the center of Missouri: as of 8 PM Eastern time, it was 68 degrees in St. Louis, while on the other side of the state, in Kansas City, the temperature has dropped to 32 degrees. It’s already below zero in places like Bemidji, Minnesota, where tomorrow’s high is expected to be a frosty 14 below.
The cold air is going to continue to come towards the Atlanta area. Meanwhile, a high pressure system in the Caribbean is working to block its advance. At the same time, upper air from the southwest continues to bring moist air into the region, along with the possibility of precipitation.
The whole scenario brings a lot of uncertainty to the forecast. One possibility is that we get a wedge effect, where the cold air from the high is overrun by the warm air aloft. This would tend to keep temperatures cooler than they would otherwise. Then, there’s the question of how far south the cold air will make it. The forecast models don’t agree in terms of exactly what will happen.
Expect tomorrow’s highs to be at least ten degrees cooler than today’s almost 73 degree temperatures (only the second time the temperature has been above 70 since November 15th). Saturday, will be likely to be 15 degrees cooler than that.
The real question is what will we see Saturday and Sunday night. If it’s cold enough, we could see sleet or freezing rain - the Weather service has issued a Special Weather Statement calling for the possibility of a wintry mix, but thinks that the most likely area to be affected is north of a Rome - Roswell - Gainesville line.
So, the best advice I can give you now is to not plan on doing a lot outside over the holiday weekend, and to keep an eye on the weather forecasts, which could likely change as the situation plays out.
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