Tonight brings clouds into our northern counties, with a clipper system scooting by to the north. We won’t see any snow showers but areas north will have more clouds than south. As a result, temperatures will vary a bit, with lows in the lower 20s farther south, while areas north remain a little warmer in the middle to upper 20s as a result of the abundant clouds.

Saturday is shaping up to be a beautiful day. A nice southwesterly breeze and a lot of sunshine will help push us into the upper 40s and low 50s for high temperatures. If you have outdoor chores or plans this weekend, Saturday is about the only nice day we’ll have. Clouds will begin to increase late Saturday night with rain showers pushing in during the very early hours of Sunday morning.

Sunday brings the rain showers back into the picture, which could be steady at times. Expect a quarter to a half inch of rain overall from this storm system Sunday. Temperatures are warm enough at dawn ensure rain as our precipitation type for most of the region. Snowshoe and those spots in the mountains around the 4,000ft mark in elevation may see some freezing rain mixed early on but this will be a very brief occurrence early on. As we warm up into the middle 40s in the afternoon, rain will be the only concern. As temperatures cool off overnight, a light wintery mix is expected for the higher elevation late Sunday night into Monday.

Monday we’re still running warm to start with most of us above freezing. The exception here will be the ridgelines through Greenbrier, Nicholas, and Pocahontas counties which may see instances of freezing rain early on. We will warm up through the day into the middle 40s with a few showers lingering throughout the day, becoming a bit more widely scattered for the afternoon despite abundant clouds. Lows will dip below freezing into early Tuesday morning so some slick spots in the mountains are possible for the Tuesday morning drive.

Tuesday morning will be a frosty start with light snow flurries for the mountains possible as lingering moisture gets hung up in the mountains. No accumulations expected except for the highest of terrain who may see a grassy coating early on. Our weather from Tuesday moving onward will be dependent on the exact position of a stationary front that will more than likely lie just south of our region. Highs will be in the middle 30s. As a general rule of thumb for Tuesday through Thursday: the farther south this stationary front slides, the drier our weather will be, whereas the farther north it slides, the better our chances for precipitation. Tuesday looks drier and that trend continues before until Wednesday evening, but a few lingering instances of light precipitation in the form of sleet and snow are possible.

Wednesday we catch a break from the activity for the first half of the day. Temperatures will likely be below freezing in the morning so some patchy black ice early is possible. Yet another wave along our stationary front looks likely at this point for Wednesday afternoon, which will likely bring showers back into the picture Wednesday evening into the overnight hours. Highs will warm a bit from Tuesday to near 40 degrees.

Thursday looks to be a messy day with high importance on storm track. We’ll be watching this one closely with changes expected but overall, a wintery mess of rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow are likely across the region for mountains tops to lowlands, with a new area of low pressure developing. As cold air wraps behind this system, we very well could see rain showers switch over to snow even in the lowlands. Again, we’ll be keeping a close eye on this one over the weekend. High temperatures will be around 40.

Friday brings a few lingering flurries around in the morning behind our low-pressure system but we’re optimistic for some sunshine by the afternoon. It’ll be a cold day with high pressure setting in and a cold northwest/westerly flow, with high temperatures struggling to reach 30 degrees.

In your extended forecast, temperatures look to moderate a bit beyond next Friday back to near or above normal levels for the middle part of February. However, the overall pattern looks to likely bring colder weather back into the region shortly beyond that timeframe. If the right combination of moisture and cold air meet over the right area, we’re not out of the woods regarding a snow risk.

TONIGHT
More clouds north, clear skies south. Dry! Lows in the 20s.
SATURDAY
Nice day! Sunny and warmer. Highs in the upper 40s/low 50s.
SUNDAY
Showers steady at times, especially through the early afternoon. Highs in the middle 40s.
MONDAY
Few showers but plenty of breaks. Highs in the middle 40s.
TUESDAY
Few snow showers possible. Cooler. Highs in the middle 30s.
WEDNESDAY
Mostly dry early despite plenty of clouds. Rain late. Highs around 40.
THURSDAY
Wintery mess of a day looks possible! Highs near 40.
FRIDAY
Snow showers to start, clearing in the afternoon. Highs around 30.
SATURDAY
Sunshine returns, still cold. Highs in the 40s.
SUNDAY
Sunny start, increasing clouds late. Highs in the 40s.
MONDAY
Few showers possible. Highs in the 40s.