Chief Meteorologist Patrick Rockey’s First Warning Forecast
There's an old wives' tale that says if you hear thunder in winter you'll see snow within 10 days. And while there's really no serious scientific basis for it, this year the old wife may be right.
Friday night may bring the thunder. An area of low pressure with a trailing cold front will cross into Virginia and North Carolina Friday afternoon. That will bring us increasing clouds. But it looks like any rain will hold off until Friday evening.
Showers and storms are looking likely. And a few storms could be severe. Our biggest concern is damaging straight-line wind gusts. But a few storms could produce some large hail or even an isolated tornado.
The stormy weather could linger a few hours after midnight. But most of your Saturday and all of your Sunday will be dry.
The cold front that will spark the storms on Friday will send temperatures down on Saturday and especially on Sunday. Many of us may not get out of the 40s for the second half of the weekend.
Another storm system will develop and move up the coast beginning on Monday. Right now, we're not expecting much, if any, wet weather for Martin Luther King Day.
But we do expect rain and possibly some snow on Tuesday. Our longer-range forecast models are not in agreement about the timing or duration of any snow. But both are painting in the possibility of the first snowflakes of the season. Stay tuned!
