Sunshine, Well Above Average Highs Return Ahead of Weekend Snow Potential

Cloud cover was quick to move out early Wednesday morning, presenting the Stateline with an amazing sunrise to kick off the day. As the early goers made their way out this morning, they were greeted to a little patchy fog, and chilly temperatures. Morning lows for most of our spots were in the upper 20s, with wind chills in the low to mid 20s. However, I have some good news regarding the forecast. This morning's chilly start will give way to a two-day stretch of plenty of sunshine and well-above temperatures.

Unlike Monday and Tuesday, the middle of the work week features less cloud cover, and more sunshine. An expansive area of high pressure settles into the Stateline from the west, scouring out those stubborn clouds that have been keeping high temperatures on the chilly side. Under plenty of sunshine, highs will end up 15° to 20° above average both this afternoon and Thursday afternoon, in the upper 40s and low 50s. Highs more typical of mid-November rather than early-December. My advice, take some time to get outside and enjoy this lovely stretch of sunshine and warmth. Maybe take some time away from your work schedule to step outside, because it doesn't get any better than this for December standards.

For those that aren't fans of the sun setting before they get off of work, I have more good news. Although the shortest day of the year lands on the winter solstice (December 21st), today features the earliest sunset of the year. Today, the sun is scheduled to fully set by 4:23PM. In the days that follow, the sun will begin to set later, setting closer to 4:35PM as we ring in the new year. The only reason why days will continue to get shorter towards the winter Solstice is because the sunrise time will also continue to get later. Thought that would be pretty cool to point out.

Now, let's dive into the storm system that is set to approach the area by this weekend. I do want to mention that we're still a few days out from the event, and the storm system itself is hundreds of miles away from the coastline. So changes to the forecast are likely to occur. There are multiple components of this wintry forecast that still need to be hashed out. Questions include, 1. How long does rain mix with snow or how quick will the transition to snow be? 2. Where does accumulating snow look most likely to happen? 3. What will be the overall track and strength of this system on approach? Stuff that clearly cannot be hypothesized until this storm system officially makes landfall, allowing for observations to be made. Once were about 24 to 48 hours away from the event, we'll have a better understanding of what we're dealing with. I would just know that the potential for accumulating snow is there, especially late Friday night into Saturday morning.