Brrr! Winter Returns to the Southeast This Week

Where has old man winter been for the past few weeks? Well, he has been found and is coming back again to the Memphis area, bringing temperatures that are much more seasonable for the metro. First, though, we need to get through our next chance of rain.

A Wet Wednesday Commute?

After a beautiful day throughout the area on Tuesday, clouds will be increasing overnight tonight ahead of some potential showers in the morning. The chance for rain comes as a low-pressure system moves into the Midwest, with a cold front dragging through the metro tomorrow morning. Ahead of this front, there will be the chance of light rain in the morning hours, though not consistent across the entire area. Best to have your umbrella ready for the morning commute or when dropping the kids off at the bus stop.

The surface analysis for 6am Wednesday shows the potential for light rain tomorrow morning across the Memphis area as a cold front approaches. Make sure you have your umbrellas for the early commute!

Once the cold front clears the area, expect clouds to clear and temperatures on Wednesday night to drop off significantly. After much of the metro reaches the mid 60s in the afternoon, temps overnight will slide down into the 30s. There will also be a significant wind shift, as a strong westerly wind will arrive Wednesday late and continue into Thursday.

The Winter Thaw Is Over (For Now?)

Heading into later this week, temperatures will return to around normal for this time of year around Memphis. This means the 60s and 70s are gone, and will be replaced by the chilly 40s during the day. Overnight temperatures will be cold too, with lows most nights around 30, with a few potentially in the upper 20s.

Where is the cold air coming from? As the low-pressure system that brings rain to our area on Wednesday morning (and snow to our friends in the Upper Midwest) exits, the cold air trapped over the mountains in the west will spill into the middle of the country, effectively silencing the winter thaw seen over early January.

Watch as the cold air on this temperature map (denoted in the blues), pours into the central states over the next 24 to 36 hours, per the Tuesday mid-day run of the North American Model (NAM). (COD.edu) (If loop doesn't load, click here to view.)

While conditions look colder into the weekend, the sky will be mostly sunny throughout the day. However, early signs suggest another warming trend is coming for the first week of February. As always, we’ll keep you covered on your upcoming Memphis weather with our team here at MWN.

Stay ahead of the storm by downloading our MemphisWeather.Net mobile app for your iOS or Android devices and get our human-engineered forecasts at your fingertips. Also be sure to follow @memphisweather1 on Facebook and Twitter for more great content! Links are below to download the app or follow us on social media.

Alex Herbst, Meteorologist
MWN Social Media Intern

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