Weather! Big thaw on the way

Ready for warm temperatures and clear skies? You should be! This weekend and next week are both looking absolutely gorgeous!

February 11, 2011; 1:28 AM • by Weather Dan

According to Weather Underground’s Dr. Jeff Masters, Wednesday marked the second time since 2000 that a state has set a record for extreme cold. Nowata, Oklahoma bottomed out at -31F on Wednesday, thanks to a snowstorm that dropped almost 20” of snow in parts of northeast Oklahoma.

Thankfully, it’s not been that cold in Virginia, even though Virginia did rank below normal in both temperature and precipitation for the month of January. Thankfully, relief is on the way!

Your appetizer is the 6-10 and 8-14 day maps from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center:

There’s a fairly high probability that we’ll see above-normal temperatures over the next two weeks; the average high and low for February 11 are 48 and 29 respectively. By next week, I fully expect temperatures to be in the 60s, with lows still somewhat chilly, but also warming steadily.

Friday marks the beginning of this warming trend, with temperatures exceeding yesterday’s high of 41 and peaking out in the upper 40s. Overnight lows will stay rather cool, falling again into the mid 20s as clear skies allow for some additional radiational cooling to occur.

For this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, with highs in the mid 50s and approaching 60, respectively. We’ll see a big jump in overnight temperatures as well, as Saturday’s lows in the upper 20s give way to the upper 30s on Sunday night. Clear to partly cloudy conditions will persist through most of the weekend, and the warmth will likely stick around well into next week. I don’t think we’re totally done with winter just yet, but this will be a nice reprieve, for sure.

February 11, 2011 1:28 AM 3