Weather! Frigid temperatures ahead

We may see some scattered clouds Monday; otherwise, temperatures will struggle to reach 40, while blustery northwest winds will keep windchills well into the 30s.

December 6, 2010; 7:05 AM • by Weather Dan

Before we get to the weather, I wanted to plug something new I’ve been reading lately. Dan Satterfield is the chief meteorologist at WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Alabama, and also writes a blog for the American Geophysical Union. The AGU is a professional organization comprised of earth and space scientists working together to “promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity.” Satterfield just recently posted a three–part interview with astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. Dr. Tyson’s someone I wasn’t familiar with as recently as two years ago, but he’s quickly become not only one of my favorite space scientists, but one of my favorite scientists in general. He’s an eloquent speaker, and I recommend taking the time to listen to what he has to say.

The surface analysis from the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center gives us a pretty good picture of what’s in store for the next few days.

The area of low pressure off the Maine coast, with its tightly packed isobars, is what was the Alberta Clipper that brought snow flurries and some accumulation to parts of the region Saturday night. Officially at Richmond International, we picked up 0.6” of snow on Saturday. The low then moved out over open water, intensified, and now is responsible for northwesterly winds across the eastern Great Lakes, bring lake-effect and upslope snows to the mountains of West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. In fact, snow is forecast for the western slopes of the Appalachians in both states through the early part of this week. We picked up around three inches over the weekend, and the strong northwest winds are responsible for some strong wind gusts and wind chills in the single digits early this morning.

As for the Richmond region, the weather this week is going to be driven by two influences. First, the strong low pressure system that I’ve talked about already will swing cold air deep into the eastern United States. We may see some scattered clouds Monday; otherwise, temperatures will struggle to reach 40, while blustery northwest winds will keep windchills well into the 30s. Overnight lows will hit the low 20s.

Tuesday and Wednesday will see more of the same, with highs in the upper 30s, gusty winds, and overnight lows in the low 30s.

The wind chills and strong winds will no doubt take people by surprise. Make sure to bundle up!

The models are hinting at another storm this coming weekend, but there’s not much concrete established just yet. I’ll keep an eye on the latest models and will have an update for you on Thursday.

December 6, 2010 7:05 AM 0