WEATHER BLOG: Gradual Change

There will be a gradual "stepping down" into a much colder weather pattern in the mid-Atlantic states over the next four or five days, so we really need to EMBRACE Friday's temperatures which will wind up mostly in the middle and upper 40s.

The first of two impulses of energy should generate some light precipitation Friday night. Therefore, we're allowing for a couple of rain and snow showers, especially after 9 or 10 p.m. and up until daybreak Saturday. Temperatures are expected to wind up near or slightly below freezing (we're predicting 29 at BWI), so while no snow accumulation is anticipated, there still may be a few spots that get slick by 2 or 3 a.m. with the rapidly falling temperatures.

Saturday, we'll be within a couple of degrees of 40, and then as a new bundle of upper-level energy comes diving out of the north and west later Saturday night and early Sunday there may be a few flurries or even a brief burst of snow in spots. This is going to be followed by a gusty wind on Sunday, and temperatures mostly in the lower 40s.