2008.12.24
Potent showers moving our way for Christmas Eve
Here's what's coming our way tonight, though it probably won't be quite as hefty looking when it arrives. Still, expect some vigorous showers overnight as a "cold" front (using the term loosely; it'll still be pretty mild behind it) pushes a plume of moisture eastward for our Christmas Eve. The milder temperatures across much of the South are going to set the stage for what could be a potent bout of severe weather Friday and Saturday, likely centered over Arkansas -- I shared one of my Christmas severe weather memories from my Arkansas childhood in today's Weather Journal column.
And, yes, as a couple of commenters have posted in another entry (and I briefly commented on, too) ... there are growing signs of what could be a major pattern shift near the start of the new year. And this pattern shift, if it transpires, would give our region a shot at some real winter-type weather to start 2009. (The Climate Prediction Center is starting to buy in -- check out the new 8-14-day temperature map released today, depicting the first week of January) I'm still saying "could be" and "if" for now. Years of underachieving winters have made me something of a Scrooge when it comes to upcoming winter weather potential.
For now ... Merry Christmas!
Watch the showers move in on National Weather Service-Blacksburg radar or on national mosaic radar
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I've been watching the model runs the last few days and they've shown some remarkable consistency in the January 3rd+ range for a potent storm with cold air around then, and a continued pattern like we saw earlier in November with a deep trough over the east and frequent storms. Time will tell, but it's the first signs I've seen in the long-range forecasts of any semblence of winter for the southeast, so I hope it happens. I absolutely hate cold weather if there is no snow...it's almost as bad as a summer day in New Orleans to me: pure misery.
Comment by Other John — December 24, 2008 @ 11:53 pm