WEDNESDAY WEATHER BRIEFING

Good morning!

Brrrrr. A frigid start to our Wednesday as a fresh arctic air mass followed the Alberta Clipper that brought the snow yesterday. Wind chills were as low as -10 this morning. Temperatures, radar and satellite at 9am:Lake-effect snow will diminish today and the region will be left with a tranquil, cold day.Temperatures will keep rising tonight.

TONIGHT'S SNOW:   

I've been calling this the "Poor Man's Alberta Clipper" as it will be a much weaker system than the one that rolled through yesterday morning. That said, things can get slick tonight as some light snow rolls in by the end of the evening. 15 hour futurecast takes us through late evening:There will be a bit more snow after that. Snow amounts will be modest. The models are in fair agreement, showing about an inch:We think a fresh coating is likely just about everywhere and most places will check in with around an inch of fresh powder.

THURSDAY MORNING IMPACTS: 

While the steadiest snow will be over in MOST places by 5am, there can be some residual light snow or flurries....mainly in western PA. Allowing for a little extra travel time is a good idea. Often these "minor" events, -a coating to an inch or two of snow- lead to more accidents than the "big ticket" storms that everyone is more prepared for.

REST OF THE WEEK/WEEKEND:

Temperatures will get above freezing Thursday afternoon and the thaw will continue Friday. In fact it will be warm enough for rain, not snow, Friday evening and night.But the warm up will be brief. Arctic air will charge in behind that system and temperatures will probably hold steady or fall on Saturday. Snow showers are likely. Any accumulations would likely be very minor.Remember how today feels because Sunday and early next week will feel very similar.

LONG RANGE: 

The arctic blast should be the last one for a while as the pattern becomes more "zonal" across the country. This means air masses that move into the region are more likely to have originated over the Pacific than the Arctic. So, while it does not look "warm" it will be "less cold" for much of the last 10 days of January and perhaps early February. 

WEATHER FOR WEATHER GEEKS: 

We'll geek out to the long range tonight, taking a good look at the end of January and February. Our winter forecast indicated that February would be the coldest, snowiest month (compared to average). How's that forecast looking? Weather For Weather Geeks will be on ericwfmj.com and wfmj.com/weather as well as the WFMJ app by 8:00pm.

2 DEGREE GUARANTEE: 

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