The visible satellite image shows that clouds are slowly eroding from west to east this Sunday morning, which means that we should see clearing skies later today. The weather pattern remains active so we should expect a continuation of major weather changes every few days. Monday should be a tranquil day with sunshine with temperatures just below seasonal norms. Another low pressure system will be approaching from the south and west. This storm system is expected to bring yet another snowstorm to parts of the center of the nation that had the heavy snow last week. Tuesday looks to be a wet day here in Hampton Roads. The exact timing of the rainfall is not certain at this time. We should clear out Wednesday but how long the dry weather lasts is questionable. Another system may impact our area later in the week but right now, the models aren’t in agreement on a solution.

A frontal system is going to make for a wet Saturday as we will see periods of rain throughout much of the day. There may be breaks in the rain every once in a while but for the most part, rain chances will remain high through the day Saturday. Temperatures will be a little warmer than they’ve been the past few days. The rain should move out by Sunday morning, but it appears that models have slowed the expected clearing on Sunday. However, Sunday should be a better day than Saturday and the sun should reappear. Monday should be a decent day with slightly cooler temperatures. Another frontal system will be approaching, which should bring more rain early on Tuesday. As I pointed out yesterday, the pattern remains very active. That system is predicted to bring another significant snowfall to parts of the center of the nation that had a major snowfall earlier in the week. In a way, that is good news for this part of the country that has been plagued by a drought over the past several months. These snowstorms won’t end their drought but they will undoubtedly bring much welcomed moisture to the area. A lot of our nation’s food supply comes from this area so let’s hope this trend continues. The Mid-Western drought has also impacted the water levels of the Mississippi River so I’m hoping that these storm systems will help alleviate that situation.

The weather pattern has been very active the past few weeks and from what I can tell, the active pattern will continue for some time to come. It’s been quite chilly the past few days and it appears the we’ll get a break from the cold temperatures. However, low pressure developing now well to our southwest should bring us a decent chance of rain beginning later today or tonight and lasting through part of the day on Saturday. One of the reasons for the active weather is a very strong jet stream. As the troughs and ridges progress across the country, it brings changes in the weather every few days. The jet stream is also quite far south which allows the cold air from up north to move further south into the U.S. That’s not unusual for this time of year. The massive storm system that caused heavy snow in the central part of the nation is slowly weakening as a new area of low pressure develops near the Gulf Coast. As this low moves northeast it will intensify especially once in reaches the coastal waters off the Virginia coast. Rain may be moderate and even heavy at times in some portions of the Southern Mid-Atlantic States. The rain moves away Saturday night and we should have a decent Sunday with temperatures a little above normal. Another storm system may bring a chance of rain Monday night and Tuesday.

My thermometer read a chilly 22 degrees when I woke up this morning.  Temperatures should reach into the low 40’s today with less wind than Sunday, when we only saw temperatures make it only into the 30’s.  A frontal system should bring us an increasing chance of showers on Tuesday and temperatures will be much milder. On Wednesday, we dry out and temperatures should average below seasonal averages through Thursday. A low pressure system may bring us wet weather on Friday. The low pressure that brought us the precipitation on Saturday became a very powerful system which pummelled Eastern New England and Nova Scotia with high winds and heavy snowfall. Snow and wind up there came just a week after the spectacular blizzard last week. It appears that the weather pattern will remain quite active for the next 7 to 10 days at least.

As predicted the rain turned to snow Saturday evening but as I suspected (and I posted this yesterday), the precipitation cut off before the snow could really accumulate. My Virginia Beach neighborhood only had a dusting of snow and it was mostly on grassy surfaces, vehicles, roofs, etc. The roads look clear for the most part. Areas to our west and southwest had a little more snow accumulation. The low pressure area that caused the snow is now a powerful system off the coast of New England and as a result, our wind speeds will stay up throughout most of the day adding to the chill. Temperatures should stay in the 30’s today. A disturbance may bring a snow flurry/shower today but no major accumulation is expected. The winds should relax somewhat on Monday and it should be another mostly sunny day. Another system will be approaching and may bring us some rain/showers on Tuesday. Temperatures are expected to be milder along with the cloudy/damp weather. This next system doesn’t look that potent so rainfall amounts shouldn’t be too extreme. A return to sunny skies is expected on Wednesday and that should continue into Thursday. Another system may affect us as we head into next weekend but it’s way too early to provide any specifics.