Weather Outlook

Dry weather along with a marked warming trend will be the rule through Thursday. A surge of very mild, moist air on Friday will be accompanied by showers in the western half of the state and scattered showers in the east. Saturday may see record highs as temperatures soar toward the 60's in the southeast counties and 50's elsewhere. A cold front will slowly approach the Commonwealth on Sunday with a few rounds of showers and then cross the state early next week with more episodes of a cooler rain separated by dry intervals and even breaking clouds.

A mid-week disturbance (Jan 16-17) may threaten a part of the state with wintry precipitation before a blast of Arctic air arrives late next week and lingers into the weekend (Jan 19-20). It appears that this sharp cold snap will be short-lived and a mix of polar and Pacific air will dominate the rest of the month with another opportunity for a winter storm during the last week of January.

While the rest of the winter (Feb-Mar) is likely to be milder than average and wetter than normal, particularly during March, there are some indicators that a burst of bitter cold air is possible during the first week of February. A mild and drier than average spring is favored.