You'd never guess it by going outside but this is Winter Weather Awareness Week. Yippie! The Weather Service released its winter outlook last week. The major driver for the outlook is the La Niña that is developing off the western coast of South America. A strong La Niña doesn't have much influence on the Northeast, but the bad girl is associated with cool, wet weather along the Pacific Coast and warm, dry winters in the southern Great Plains.
Two warm front passages, one around noon, the other this evening, will make for a warm, if wet, first half of the week. Today's high will be around 70 degrees with a slight chance of showers associated with the initial front. Showers and thunderstorms are much more likely this evening, once the second front arrives.
The chance of rain will diminish tomorrow as the front heads north. That also means we should see a high in the mid 70s. Showers and thunderstorms will likely return on Wednesday, this time ahead of a cold front. The timing of that front is currently uncertain, but it looks like we may pull off another day in the lower 70s. Cooler conditions are in store for the weekend.
