Rain Moves in Late, Turning Very Cold By the Weekend

Turning Active:

Yesterday marked the 8th straight day in which the Stateline sat under a mostly cloudy to overcast sky. Unfortunately, our  pattern only gets more active from here, meaning there won't be much room for sunshine in the forecast moving forward. On the flip side, this morning will mirror the weather conditions felt to kick off the day yesterday, with a lot of clouds and temperatures in the 30s. Despite the dry start to our Tuesday, I would still take an umbrella with you as we can expect rain chances to increase as the day carries on. 

Rain Timing:

Forecast models bring the first opportunity for rain towards the late afternoon hours, with it becoming more widespread during the evening. Once the wet weather commences, we can expect several hours of moderate to heavy rainfall rates to follow. 

As we mentioned previously, severe weather will not be a concern with this activity. However, a few rumbles of thunder cannot be ruled out. Now, along with the heavy downpours does come a rather gusty wind out of the east-southeast. With winds ramping up roughly 5000 ft above the surface, wind gusts at ground level will likely land in the 30-40 mph range overnight. So before this mess moves in, I would take the time to secure any Christmas decorations or loose objects in your yard.

Late Week Cold:

It's not until we hit the early stages of Wednesday morning that we begin to see the widespread rain break apart, leaving us with scattered showers for the remainder of the day. 

Again, having the umbrella will be a necessity. From start to finish, I do think most will have the potential to pick up 1"-1.5". Wednesday night is when the focus switches from the rain to the bitterly cold as the same system will help filter our next round of Arctic air. Highs Thursday afternoon are set to only peak in the upper 30s, with low 30s on tap for Friday. With Arctic air continuing to filter in aloft, highs both Saturday and Sunday will be severely limited to the upper 20s, with overnight lows in the teens. 

Long Range Outlook:

Looking ahead to the days leading up to the Christmas holiday, there are strong signals of well-below average temperatures spilling spilling across much of the lower 48. The highest probability, residing over the northern Plains, the Great Lakes, and even into the deep south states. 

So it's safe to say, winter will be in full force from this weekend into next week. Now, we just need a storm system to come in late in the week next week to give us a good chance at seeing a white Christmas. But as of this morning, it's still way to far in advanced to set anything into stone. Only time will tell folks.