Russell’s First Alert Forecast: Cold conditions stick around, Rain likely by Thursday

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Mild days and cool nights are expected through the next few days. The clouds will stick around for tonight, hiding the moon and stars. Eventually, persistent northwesterly breezes should break up most of the clouds by daybreak Sunday. This should allow for sunshine to return to the Carolina blue skies. With a cold airmass in place, near steady temps in the 40s during the day and upper 20s/lower 30s are likely.

During the middle part of the week, atmospheric conditions will become supportive for an extended period of showers and heavy rain. While the chances for wintry precipitation has decreased, the rain will be beneficial to the ongoing drought across our region.

The WITN Weather Team has decided to make next Friday and Saturday a First Alert Weather Day. It’s a busy time to travel and we know you have a lot of plans. Temperatures are expected to be well below average as many hit the roads to travel within the state and out of state. Our average highs are in the 50s through Christmas. This year we could see highs stay in the 30s! That would lead to very cold and below-freezing temperatures overnight. Rain is expected to increase ahead of the cold air Thursday and Thursday night. It’s way too early to talk about any chance for snow or ice, but temperatures could be close to or below freezing to start Friday if precipitation lingers. Plenty of time to watch this event and too early for you to change any plans, but we wanted to give you a heads-up as early as possible on the cold headed our way.

DROUGHT MONITOR: As of Thursday’s (12/15) update, most Eastern NC counties are now in a moderate drought. Multiple communities are running several inches below normal for the year. Yesterday’s storm brought a much-needed 1.0″ or so of rain to our area, however, this only put a dent in the problem, not fix it completely.

Sunday

Sunny, breezy, and chilly. High of 47. Winds: NW 10-15

Monday

Mostly sunny. High of 48. Winds: NW 5-10.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. High of 50. Winds: S 3-7

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