Finally feeling like December after one of the warmest starts to the month on record

A brief burst of snow and sleet is possible for parts of the area Wednesday morning

Colder air returns Tuesday through Thursday

ROANOKE, Va. – So far, December 2021 has been one of the warmest on record. Granted, we’re only about a week through the month.

Following Monday night’s cold front, Tuesday through Thursday will be more “par for the course” temperature-wise.

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Highs Tuesday mainly reach the 40s with a mix of sun and clouds.

High temperature for Tuesday, 12/7/2021

The air in the first few thousand feet of the atmosphere is bone dry. That doesn’t bode well for snow-lovers Wednesday morning. A storm system tries to generate some accumulating snow, but it won’t succeed in doing so for most of the area.

Most of the moisture and energy associated with this storm will be farther south and east of us.

Dry air and storm dynamics limit our wintry weather potential Wednesday

It’s possible that we see some snow showers and sleet pellets in areas along and west of the Parkway between about 6 and 11 a.m. Wednesday.

FutureTracker - Wednesday morning

A warm ground will limit any minor accumulation to the grass and to the higher elevations. That’s it. We’re not getting a snow day out of this one. Sorry, teachers!

Possible snow totals on the grass in higher elevations Wednesday morning

We’ll stay cold through Thursday.

A warm front lifts north Friday, generating a few afternoon and evening showers. That paves the way for a surge of (possibly near-record) warmth Saturday, which is then followed by another push of rain and cooler air on the back half of the weekend.

Jet stream retreats north, allowing more warmth to build in by Saturday

About the Author

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.

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