The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports

Snow Winding Down Today But Cold Air Sticks Around...

A blast of arctic air moved into our area overnight and was accompanied by some snow squalls. Some folks saw little in the way of snow while others experienced a brief whiteout this morning with some very slippery roads. Drier air is poised to move in and we're already seeing clouds break up across southern Ohio on satellite imagery. Snow showers will wind down this morning and only fall in our eastern counties this afternoon. That's where a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 6 PM...from Raleigh County up through Fayette and Nicholas into Webster Counties. Those spots could see an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow today. For the rest of us sunshine will return but it will be deceptive. The core of that arctic air is right over us and temperatures will struggle to a high of only 32. In addition, winds will be quite blustery today, especially once the sun breaks out. That will put our wind chills into the teens and 20s today.

Any remaining clouds will continue to break up tonight as the last of the mountain snow showers fall apart. Winds will die down as a big area of high pressure begins to build in from the west. That will set us up for a bitter night...in fact tonight should be the coldest of the season, besting even Wednesday morning. Temperatures will bottom out around 15 degrees by dawn with single digits in areas east of Charleston. Saturday will begin with some sunshine but a weak jetstream disturbance will approach in the afternoon. This feature won't produce any precipitation but we do expect some clouds will increase in the afternoon and may dull the sun. That will help keep our temperatures on the cold side, with a high of only 34 expected. Fortunately winds will be light so it should be a little better than today. Sunday promises to be a lot better. That high will remain in control and we expect strong sunshine both in the morning and afternoon. In addition, winds will turn into the southwest...a mild direction. Temperatures will warm nicely after another cold beginning and we expect a high of 49 in the afternoon. Believe it or not that's still a little below normal for this time of year but it will feel great!

Mild air will hang around for a little while as we kick off the new workweek but it won't last long. Another cold front will approach Monday and bring another round of precipitation our way. It will be mild enough for this to initially fall as rain as we head into Monday afternoon. However by Monday evening colder air will pour back in and change rain to snow showers. Another cold airmass will settle in on Tuesday and while it shouldn't be as bad as today it will still feel like Winter. It may look like it too with occasional snow showers and we could have some slippery travel once again. Temperatures will struggle up to a high of 36. This cold air will move out by the middle and end of the week although it may take it's sweet time so temperatures will only gradually warm. We should reach a high of 42 on Wednesday with dry conditions for travel. Thanksgiving is also looking dry right now with a high of 46.

--Douglass Harlow
11/21/08

CHARLESTON AREA
7 DAY E X T E N D E D FORECAST

TODAY
NOV 21