First of all, Happy New Year everyone! After the very chilly December, Saturday’s weather will feel almost spring-like. Mild air moving north out ahead of a trough/cold front slowly approaching from the west will help to melt more of the snow. Saturday should be decent with some sunshine and mild temperatures. The front should bring some rain or showers with it late Saturday night and early Sunday morning but current indications are that we won’t see a deluge here in Hampton Roads. This system brought the deadly tornadoes to parts of the Southern Plains States on Saturday, which is quite rare for the last day of December. The system will shear out somewhat so severe weather is not expected here locally. The air behind this system will not be as frigid as we saw in December. Temperatures will probably be near or slightly below normal for the first part of this upcoming week.
December 2010 ranked the 4th coldest for ORF and was ranked the 2nd snowiest since records were kept. We are in a La Nina phase in the Pacific, which means that the waters in the Eastern North Pacific are running cooler than normal. This usually means drier than normal weather for Southern California. Well, that has not been the case over the past several weeks as that part of the country has been hammered by major storms bring very heavy rain and snow to the higher elevations. That’s what amazes me about the weather. It’s so hard to understand and predict.
Forecasters are hinting of another possibility of a winter storm next weekend, but it is much too early for any specific details. I’ll have an update on Sunday. Thanks for reading.
Dave's Weather Discussion is your home for a detailed, precise, & local weather forecast and discussion for the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Using a compilation of the National Weather Service forecast ideas with the opinions of leading meteorologists, Dave gives you the info to plan your day. He puts the weather into simple terms so you can be ready for Mother Nature. Interesting facts and explanations give you insight into the fascinating and complex world of meteorology.
