Meteorologist Kristy Steward's First Warning Forecast
Good Saturday evening! We have quite an active weather day ahead of us Sunday.
Tonight, clouds briefly clear out before quickly increasing again. We'll reach our lows in the upper 20s closer to Midnight. Winds also begin to pick-up.
Sunday, expect sustained ENE winds of 20-30 MPH gusting up to 50 MPH. Areas along the coast are under a Wind Advisory from 4 PM Sunday until 10 AM Monday. Isolated power outages, tree limbs knocked down, and unsecured objects being blown around are possible. Dare county is under a Level 1 threat for severe weather. Primarily for the strong gusty and potentially damaging winds. These strong winds will also bring a rough surf and tidal flooding.
A High Surf Advisory is in effect from 4 PM Sunday until 10 AM Monday for Eastern Currituck, Virginia Beach, and the Eastern Shore. 7-12 feet breaking waves. Watch for ocean overwash along the Outer Banks.
A Coastal Flood Watch is in effect 7 PM Sunday - 10 AM Monday for Accomack county. 2-3 feet inundation expected.
Along the coast, nuisance tidal flooding Sunday morning will turn into minor-moderate flooding around 8 PM Sunday. Watch for 1-3 feet of inundation. If you come across a roadway that has water on it, turn around and don't try to cross it. It is especially hard to tell how deep water is in the dark.
Now onto the precipitation expected Sunday...
Sunday morning will start as a mix for our inland communities along and just east of I-95. By Sunday afternoon, that will transition to rain. Our coastal communities will only see rain throughout this event. The main time we'll see precipitation is from 7 AM - 11 PM Sunday. In that time, we'll pick up around 1.5" of rain. Before the rainfall, our inland communities may pick up half an inch of snow and a light glaze of ice. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect 7 AM - 6 PM Sunday for Northampton (NC), Hertford, Bertie, Surry, James City, and Southampton. Anything that does fall will briefly stick and create brief slick spots. The rain and warm-up quickly following will help rapidly melt anything that does stick to the ground.
All day Sunday, temperatures gradually rise. We'll reach our high of 50° Sunday evening.
Sunday night, on the backside of this low pressure system, we could see some snow flurries or a mix 2 AM - 8 AM Monday. Temperatures will drop into the upper 30s. Not expecting accumulation with this round.
MLK Day stays breezy and mostly dry. Partly cloudy with highs in the upper 40s.
Lots of sunshine Tuesday, but chilly with temperatures in the mid 40s. We briefly warm-up Wednesday into the mid 50s ahead of a cold front early Thursday morning. That cold front could bring us some mixed precipitation Wednesday night into Thursday. It will also bring colder air. Highs in the mid 40s Thursday and low to mid 30s Friday into the weekend as a Canadian high pressure system tries to work its way into the Mid-Atlantic. A few flurries are possible Friday and Saturday too.
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