DELMARVA FORECAST
New Year's Eve: Scattered showers and perhaps a thunderstorm or two. Midnight temperatures around 50°F. Sunrise lows in the low to mid 40s. Winds from the west at 10 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.
New Year's Day: Becoming mostly sunny and windy. Winds from the west could gust to 40 mph or more at times. Highs in the low 50s.
Thursday: Mostly sunny and blustery. Highs in the low to mid 40s. Wind chills in the mid 30s.
Friday: Partly cloudy with a chance for a few brief snow showers. Highs in the low 40s. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Cold. Breezy. Highs in the mid 30s. Wind chills in the mid 20s.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. Cold. Highs in the mid to upper 30s.
Monday: Chance of wintry precipitation. Cold. Highs in the mid to upper 30s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
Tuesday: Becoming mostly sunny. Highs in the low 40s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 47°F. Normal low: 29°F.
The final hours of the year will be a little unsettled on Delmarva as a low pressure system passes to our north, swinging a cold front across the peninsula this evening.
Ahead of the front, we'll have scattered showers. It won't be a washout, but bring an umbrella just in case you plan to attend one of Delmarva's outdoor New Year's Eve celebrations. While unstable energy is low, there will be gusty winds near the surface, which could allow for a thunderstorm or two to develop. There is a chance any thunderstorms could briefly become severe for damaging wind gusts. A tornado threat is extremely low, but not zero for the evening hours.
Shower activity will start to taper off as we get to the midnight hour, and temperatures as we ring in the new year will be about 50°F.
New Year's Day will be a transition day. It will turn mostly sunny, but with gusty northwest winds. Wind Advisories will be in effect for much of Delmarva, and Gale Warnings will be in effect for all of the waters around the peninsula. Temperatures will still be mild, in the low to mid 50s, but will keep falling through the end of the week.
A series of dry cold fronts will bring several blasts of reinforcing cold air to Delmarva, with highs on Thursday and Friday only in the low 40s, and this weekend only in the 30s.
A weak disturbance crosses the region on Friday, which could bring some brief snow or wintry mix showers to Delmarva, although at this time it looks like any travel disruptions will be minor and brief.
The weekend will be bitterly cold with upper troughing digging into the Eastern United States. Wind chills could drop into the 20s during the day, and teens at night.
Then all eyes are on next Monday, as longer-range guidance is suggesting a storm system could eject out of the Ohio River Valley and bring a round of some wintry precipitation to Delmarva. This is nearly a week out, so watch this space for forecast updates throughout the week as we get a better handle on timing, chance, and types of precipitation.
