ROANOKE, Va. – An area of Arctic high pressure over the nation’s midsection is supplying us with very cold, dry air to start the week. Wind chills Monday morning start in the single digits and teens. With highs in the 30s, any little breeze will make it feel colder than that even in the afternoon.
Because the air is so dry, remember to take care of your skin. This means pulling out the lip balm (Chapstick, Burt’s Bees, Blistex, etc.), using lotion when appropriate and resisting the temptation to take a long, hot shower.
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This dry air will also lead to very cold nights, with lows around 15-20° Monday and Tuesday nights. For those with exposed piping, you might want to let the faucet drip or gently stream. Make sure your pets have a warm place to stay as well.
We’ll stay very dry through Wednesday and Thursday, but a storm system developing east of the Rockies will start to change that late Friday. It will lift the air and pull in enough moisture to overcome our dry air, starting some on and off rain late Friday through Saturday.
Because this low moves almost directly overhead, it will drag down enough cold air to get some snow showers going Saturday mainly in the mountains. That’s where the best chance for accumulating snow is at the moment.
We’ll let you know if this system will be strong enough to drag in enough cold air elsewhere. In that case, you could wind up seeing snow showers outside of just the mountains.
By Sunday, the west-facing slopes continue to see snow. The rest of us will be cool and gusty at times.