WEATHER BLOG: Friday

Very mild air is in place early this morning along the Eastern Seaboard, but it is somewhat chillier (where the temperature has been as low as the upper 30s) across interior parts of the mid-Atlantic states and the Northeast. Later this morning, areas of low clouds and fog in mild spots and the chillier locations should break for some sunshine, and there will be several thermometers that will reach the lower and middle 60s this afternoon. A high pressure system remains firmly in place in the western Atlantic, and light winds out of the south and southwest will continue to pull unusually mild air into the Eastern Region. The much warmer than normal pattern is going to continue through the upcoming weekend - and as we've established during the past 48 hours, it's imminent the mild air will stick around on Monday. There may be some daily maximum temperature records challenged or broken tomorrow, Sunday and Monday.

The leading edge of somewhat cooler air expected to arrive Monday night and early Tuesday, but this air mass will be of Pacific (and not Canadian) origin. Therefore, daytime temperatures on Tuesday will still be in the mid or upper 50s. A second cold front that is expected to reach the East Coast late next Thursday or early on Friday will usher in some chillier air, which will probably result in temperatures no higher than the 40s NEXT weekend. This means we're probably no fewer than seven days away from seeing temperatures closer to their normal levels, and the widely-held belief now is that the East will be able to avoid arctic air through at least Christmas. We'll be fine-tuning our quantitative precipitation (rainfall) forecast over the next couple of days, but it looks right now like a general 0.50" - 1.00" is likely early next week, with most of it occurring Monday afternoon and Monday night.