NEW YEARS EVE: A few showers will be possible as another surge of moisture lifts across the state early on – that, along with clouds, will give way to sunshine through the afternoon hours as temperatures make a run for the upper 70s and lower 80s yet again. For any fireworks Friday night, we should remain mostly quiet. A shower or two could be possible amid variably to mostly cloudy skies. Lows will fall back to the 60s to near 70.
WEEKEND PLANNER: New Years Day will stay off quiet, but may not end in the same fashion. Highs will top out in the lower 80s. A strong cold front is poised to move through Mississippi – yielding a risk for strong to severe storms yet again. All modes of severe weather – wind, hail and tornadoes, will be possible. Expect scattered storms to flare up ahead of a squall line during the afternoon hours – of which, a few could be severe – then the squall line shifts through the region during Saturday evening/night. Behind it, a stark blast of cold air will sweep into the region. Temperatures will slip through the 40s – a few showers could linger with a few novelty flakes of snow Sunday before shifts east. We’ll fall deep into the 20s by early Monday morning.
EXTENDED RANGE: We’ll start the week off quietly – yet cold. Expect highs Monday, amid sunshine, to be in the upper 40s to near 50 after starting off in the 20s. A quick warm up gets us back to near-normal for early January standards by Tuesday and above-average – in the 60s by mid-week. A system is poised to move through late Wednesday into Thursday – bringing in another blast winter reality by the end of the week.
Patrick Ellis
WLBT/FOX 40 First Alert Meteorologist
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @PatrickEllisWx