Well the world did not end at 6:12am but winter has begun. Very strong winds and heavy rain this morning with gusts in excess of 50MPH are bringing down some tree limbs and power lines. The storm that gave the upper mid-west blizzard conditions will move to our northeast this morning. Colder air behind this storm will cause temperatures to drop this afternoon and there may be some snow showers later this afternoon and evening and again on Saturday. Winds will diminish somewhat but still be strong during the weekend. It now appears that we may see some light snow on Christmas morning as a weak disturbance moves through. A stronger system next Wednesday and Thursday may give the area accumulating snow so stay tuned.. Just a note that South Florida has freeze warnings issued for tonight.
The forecast:
Today – Strong winds and heavy rain till around 9am then cloudy and colder with slowly diminishing winds, chance of rain and or snow showers this afternoon, temperatures falling from the 50s this morning to near 40 by sunset.
Tonight – Mostly cloudy, low around 30.
Saturday – Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers in the morning and then rain or snow showers in the afternoon, windy, high in the low 40s.
Sunday – Mostly sunny, high around 40.
Monday – Mostly sunny, high in the upper 40s, chance of light snow at night.
Christmas Day – Mostly cloudy with a chance of light snow in the morning, high in the upper 30s.
Wednesday – Becoming cloudy with a chance or rain or snow, high near 40.
Thursday – Cloudy with a chance of rain or snow, high near 40.
Marine Forecast: Gale warnings through Saturday: Today – Southeast winds becoming Southwest gusting to 45 knots, seas up to 13 feet.
Outlook: Small craft advisories likely on Sunday dropping below advisory levels on Monday and Christmas Days, warnings may be needed again for the storm system on Wednesday and Thursday.
Enjoy the first day of winter!