Oak Hill, WV (WOAY-TV): A cold front will bring early weekend rain followed by a pattern transition to much cooler temperatures.
The timeline of Saturday’s front is below:
6-9 a.m.: Rain begins across southern West Virginia with temperatures in the upper 50s.
9 am to Noon: Rain continues, ending very close to midday. Total rain amounts of 0.40-0.60″. Temperatures drop to near 50 degrees.
Noon-6 p.m.: Clearing skies with a wind shift to the Northwest. Ideal for any outdoor activities,, including softball and baseball games. Temperatures rise into the mid 50s.
The front will mark a change in the air mass for the foreseeable future. Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill strongly advises you to NOT plant flowers just yet.
Check out Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill’s latest 7-Day forecast and sub-seasonal outlook through early May below:
While summer has made an appearance in mid-spring, residents are urged to not let their guard down and start the garden early.
The average last hard freeze of the growing season is April 29. The last five years support this trend, with the final hard frost of the season occurring between April 16 and May 10.
The earliest hard frost on record for the spring was just six years ago on April 8, 2017. That spring didn’t feature an El Nino or La Nina, but rather an extended neutral pattern.
The latest final spring freeze occurred on June 11, 1972. That year matches up more closely to the ENSO pattern we are seeing this year with a La Nina fading in the winter, neutral pattern in the spring and El Nino development late in the spring to early summer.
The upcoming pattern shows multiple factors supporting colder temperatures at the end of April into early May, including a blocking pattern in the Arctic, negative North Atlantic Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation and positive Pacific North American Oscillation. A combination of these factors will work in tandem to produce a hard freeze on a few occasions next week.
