WOAY-TV (Oak Hill, WV): Today will be the brunt of the cold temperatures across the region, with highs barely hitting 40° and wind chills below freezing. Overnight will reach down into the 20s before we finally see some improvement on Wednesday with sunny skies and rising temperatures. Meteorologist Christian Boteler has your full 7-Day Forecast:
Make sure you have your winter gear ready for today, as temperatures will not improve by much across the area. While we are not under a Freeze Warning like the counties to our northwest, we will experience temperatures into the 20s overnight. If you have sensitive plants or a garden, be sure it is protected from the cold. Bundle up if you are commuting as well, especially in the overnight hours.
Wednesday will be sunny and much more seasonable, though still a pinch below average. The next chance of rain comes through on Thursday as a warm front comes through the area with showers. There is a chance for an isolated thunderstorm somewhere in that front, though severe weather is not expected at this time. Friday and Saturday continue the rainy weather as the backend of that low pressure system passes through.
After the rain leaves Saturday, mostly cloudy skies take over and cloud cover gradually dwindles Sunday. Monday will be a great start to the week, as temperatures will finally rise back into the 70s and mostly sunny skies prevail. Make sure to prepare for the dreary week ahead and look forward to the sunnier days on Wednesday and next Monday.
The cooldown we have been experiencing is due to the “final stratospheric warming event” that occured in the middle of March. While it may seem this event wouldn’t have much bearing on our situation, it plays a crucial role in showing why this cooldown is occurring. The large warming event in March has caused the polar vortex to become unstable, dragging cooler air towards northern Europe. One of the effects of this final warming event is bringing cooler weather to not just Europe, but the northeastern United States. Below is a graph showing the large temperature increase in the stratosphere in mid-March:
The only thing you have to focus on in this chart is the large upward increase, which signifies the final warming event of the year. It’s much earlier than average and intense, causing the cooldown right now. We also mentioned earlier in the month that a Greenland High regime would be a factor in this cooldown. However, that regime has not come to fruition, as no dominant North American pattern has surfaced thus far. With that in mind, the final stratospheric warming event shown in the above figure is why we’re seeing a very cool second week of April.
