FRIDAY AFTERNOON TURNED OUT WETTER THAN FORECASTERS HAD EXPECTED... SATURDAY WILL BE MORE LIKE A DAY IN FEBRUARY THAN LATE MARCH... THE COLD WON'T LAS

Forecasters did not think that the system currently affecting our region would bring this much precipitation. It's not the intensity of the rainfall. It's the duration. There was only supposed to be a period of rain Friday morning and then just a sprinkle or shower in the afternoon as the colder air moved in. Well, it rained on and off from around noon through the late evening! I picked up about a half inch of rain. Forecasters accurately predicted that the cold was coming but they underestimated the duration of the precipitation. Temperatures started out in the low 60's and they dropped rapidly early Friday afternoon into the middle 40's. Winds picked up as the rain began to fall. Saturday looks sunny, but temperatures will be way below normal for late March. Winds will slowly slacken off. Temperatures probably won't get out of the 40's along coastal areas. Sunday looks decent but clouds will be moving in ahead of yet another low pressure system. Showers are possible late in the day, but they should hold off until after dark. Rain/showers are a good bet early Monday. Temperatures on Sunday will rebound to normal levels. There are indications that a major warm-up is coming later next week. We'll have to see if that materializes. I'll have an update on Sunday.