ROANOKE, Va. – If you just love above-average temperatures in late November, then Wednesday was the day for you. Despite all that rain and wind, we reached the 60s for highs.
The features controlling our weather for the first day of December flip us around 180°. We trade clouds and rain for bright sunny skies, and we swap above-average highs for below-average afternoons.
Temperatures are limited to the 40s and low 50s Thursday, and we only add a few degrees Friday. Skies are mostly clear on both days.
Average highs at the start of December are in the low-to-mid 50s. Thursday’s temperatures might put you in a festive mood: it feels more like the official start of winter outside.
We are far from done with rain for the next seven days. Following Wednesday’s cold front we have more rain chances Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.
The cold stretch is interrupted by another system marching its way across the continent. Slightly warmer air comes in Friday. That air carries moisture onshore from the ocean.
The cold front coming from the west uses that moisture to make clouds and rain. Saturday is another cloudy, drizzly day in the vein of Wednesday.
High pressure keeps Sunday clear and cold. Monday’s pattern varies from the last few systems by giving us a warm front. This front means more warmth and moisture headed our way, and we even get a few showers Monday. The cold front paired with that warm front sweeps through Tuesday for yet another gray and rainy day.
With all these changes in our weather, our temperatures are consistent. Highs are generally within a few degrees of average, and lows go from the 20s Thursday into the 40s by the middle of next week.
The temperature trend through the middle of the month keeps us generally above average. Snow is hard to come by for the first third of December.