DELMARVA -- High pressure exits Delmarva today, allowing a weak cold front to move through the region this afternoon and evening. A few mid- and high-level clouds increase ahead of the front. The system is expected to pass through dry.
Southwest winds ahead of the front will help temperatures climb into the upper forties to low and mid-fifties. Winds will shift to the west behind the front, with gusts between 20 and 25 miles per hour possible through the afternoon and evening.
High pressure briefly builds in tonight, bringing calmer conditions and decreasing winds. Skies will be partly cloudy, and overnight lows will fall into the upper twenties to low thirties across Delmarva.
The high moves offshore on Thursday, allowing warmer air to return on southeast to south winds. Highs will reach the mid and upper fifties to near sixty, roughly ten degrees warmer than today in some areas. Clouds increase through the day, with showers developing by Thursday evening as a stronger system approaches.
A strong cold front moves through late Thursday night into Friday, bringing a widespread period of rain and gusty winds. YELLOW ALERT Friday morning--Rain becomes steady overnight and continues through about midday Friday, with rainfall totals between three-quarters of an inch and one and a quarter inches. While severe weather is not expected, a rumble of thunder cannot be ruled out. Heavy rain may cause localized ponding and minor urban flooding during the Friday morning commute.
Wind will be the main impact. Gusts of 25 to 35 miles per hour are expected ahead of the front, with stronger west to northwest winds developing behind it. Gusts Friday afternoon and evening could reach 30 to 45 miles per hour, with temperatures falling through the day from the fifties in the morning to the upper thirties and low forties by evening.
Conditions improve Friday night as high pressure returns, with clearing skies, diminishing winds and lows in the low to mid-twenties.
Saturday looks quiet and seasonable, with highs in the upper thirties to mid-forties. Another cold front passes through Sunday, bringing breezy conditions but little to no precipitation. High pressure settles back in early next week, with temperatures near or slightly below normal for late December.