Cold & Mostly Dry Through Friday, Rainy Weekend?

WBBJ 7 Forecast Update:

Temperatures dropped about 20° behind the New Year’s Eve cold front and highs today didn’t even hit 40°. Morning lows will be in the 20s this week and highs will stay in the 40s. A storm system will pass just to our south during the middle of the week and another one will move right through West Tennessee later in the week. We will let you know when that is and have the latest of any chances for some snow or a wintry mix from that system coming up here.

TODAY:

It will be a cold day on Tuesday for the entire Mid South. Highs will only reach the mid 40s after starting out in the mid 20s. We should see some sunshine early in the day but clouds will be moving back in and we will see a mostly cloudy evening and night on Tuesday. Tuesday night lows will be cool again falling down to around 30°.

The winds will be calm most of the day but transition back to the south into the evening. Rain showers are not in the forecast for Tuesday.

WEDNESDAY:

A low pressure system is going to pass to the south of us on Wednesday and will keep the clouds most of the day before clearing out late into the evening behind a cold front. There could be a few showers along the Tennessee border in counties like McNairy and Hardin but most of us, and all of us north of Jackson will be missing out on the rain from the next system as the front will cut off rain chances for most of us. The winds will vary in direction as times as the low pressure system moves away from the Mid South and the late front passes. It will still be a cold day with highs reaching the upper 40s and Wednesday night lows will again fall to the mid 20s. Chances for rain is only 20% for West Tennessee.

THURSDAY:

We are expecting plenty of sunshine on Thursday but it will be another cool day. Highs on Thursday are forecast to again be in the mid 40s with Thursday night lows falling down to the mid 20s. Temperatures will be below all week long in Jackson. The winds will come out of the northeast again behind Wednesday nights weak front. Rain will look to stay away from the region on Thursday.

FRIDAY:

The best chances for rain showers or maybe a wintry mix will be on the way as we wrap up the work week and head into the weekend. Rain chances will increase during the evening and rain looks like Friday night. Highs on Friday will reach the upper 40s but it is Friday night’s low temperature that we need to keep a very close eye on this week. The forecast low now is 34° which could be cold enough for a wintry mix. If that low climbs to 36° we are looking at only a cold rain and if that low falls to 32°, we could see some snow as well. So Friday night will be a tricky forecast this week for us. Showers will continue into Saturday morning. As of now, cold rain looks to be the most likely outcome with these system for us.

THE WEEKEND:

Cold rain showers, a wintry mix or even some snow could be coming down early Saturday in West Tennessee. The showers will move out by Saturday evening.

We could see a few lingering showers on the back side of the system on Sunday but we are not overly confident in chances for precipitation on Sunday. The forecast for showers on Saturday morning though is already at 60% and most likely will increase as the weekend gets closer. Highs on Saturday will only reach the low 40s and Saturday night lows will fall down near freezing. Sunday highs will reach the upper 40s before we finally warm up back above 50° by next Monday. The winds will vary in direction this weekend as the low pressure system moves through. Expect a cloudy day Saturday with some potential sunshine breaking through on Sunday.

FINAL THOUGHT:

We are going to pick up our next shot for a wintry mix Friday night into Saturday for all of West Tennessee. A couple degrees higher or lower than the forecast of 34° could determine what falls down and for who that will mostly likely impact. We are going to be watching forecast trends very closely this week and you should as well so you are prepared for what we could see coming down on Friday night.

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Brian Davis
Storm Team 7 Meteorologist
Twitter – @Brian7wbbj
Facebook – Briandaviswbbj
Email – Badavis@wbbjtv.com