Sunday Forecast Discussion: A Rainy Start To The New Year

12/30/2012

Sunday Forecast Discussion: A Rainy Start To The New Year

(Futurecast Valid For 1 AM Tuesday)

It’s nice to finally see the sun return for this final Sunday of 2012. Even with a sunny sky overhead, temperatures will be on a slow rise this morning. Most areas dropped into the 20s last night and we expect temperatures to be in the 30s by mid morning and 40s during the afternoon. The north wind will be much lighter, with calm winds overnight.

High clouds associated with our next storm system will begin overrunning the state tonight and tomorrow. I expect the final day of the year to be dry, with highs in the 50s. We’re expecting a cold front to drop into the state and become quasi-stationary through midweek. Basically, this next system will be a very slow mover and I expect gray skies and damp conditions to linger through a good portion of the week. Disturbances riding along the approaching front will help enhance a few rounds of occasional rainfall. The first wave of rain will have the greatest impact on the entire area on New Year’s Day.

As for timing, rain looks to impact northwest areas by 11PM tomorrow night and this activity will be overspreading the rest of our area throughout Tuesday morning. The rest of the New Year’s Holiday looks cool, wet, and cloudy. Occasional showers will continue through the afternoon and evening, with rain becoming more scattered by the afternoon over northern areas. Another disturbance will ride along the front on Wednesday helping to trigger scattered showers to the far north and occasional showers along/south of the I-20 corridor. We expect one more round of rain on Thursday, followed by slow clearing Thursday night and on Friday.

(Futurecast Valid For 11 AM Tuesday)