DELMARVA FORECAST
Sunday: Rain likely, heavy at times in the afternoon. Some embedded thunderstorms possible. Winds from the south could gust to 35 mph or more at times. Highs in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 80 percent.
Sunday night: Rain, heavy at times, with embedded thunderstorms possible. Several inches of rain possible. Winds from the south could gust 35 to 40 mph at times. Lows in the mid to upper 30s. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
Monday: Showers in the morning, then clearing. Some wet snow showers could be possible in the morning. Cold and windy. Winds from the northwest could gust to 35 mph or more at times. Chance of rain 50 percent, mainly in the morning.
Tuesday: Sunny and chilly. Not as windy. Highs in the upper 40s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Cool. Highs around 50°F.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. Chilly. Highs in the mid 40s.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the low 50s.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the low to mid 50s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 51°F. Normal low: 32°F.
We're facing a wet and windy Sunday and Sunday night on Delmarva as a strong frontal system approaches from the west this morning.
Showers will approach and become more widespread by mid to late Sunday morning into the afternoon. By afternoon, expect periods of rain, which could be heavy at times as the frontal system continues to approach. Some thunderstorms could be embedded in the rain. While severe thunderstorms aren't too terribly likely, it does look like we'll have a more potent low-level jet (strong winds not far above the ground), and some of those thunderstorms could tap into that jet energy and form into a severe thunderstorm, with damaging wind gusts the main threat.
Winds and rain will be the showcase threats with this storm. Winds on Sunday and Sunday night will be from the south and could gust to 40 mph or more at times. 1-3" of rain is likely just about everywhere on Delmarva, with locally higher amounts possible. Flood watches will be in effect for the Midshore and Delaware. We'll monitor to see if those flood watches are expanded to include the Lower Eastern Shore.
As the frontal system departs on Monday morning, some showers could linger into the AM commute before ending later in the morning. Then the big story becomes gusty winds and much colder temperatures thanks to a steep pressure gradient formed by low pressure along the front and high pressure building in from the west. In fact, some wet snow showers could be possible early Monday morning. Winds shift to the northwest, gusting to 40 mph or more at times, driving afternoon highs down into the chilly (but actually somewhat seasonable!) upper 40s.
Then the rest of the week will be mostly sunny with temperatures near or below normal.
Long-range guidance is indicating yet another potent storm next weekend (ugh!), but as always, it's a week away and changes are likely. Watch this space for updates this week!
The long-term 8-14 day outlook has temperatures averaging above normal and precipitation slightly below normal for December 17 - December 23.
