Dropping temps, gusty winds and precipitation are coming to Oak Ridge - but what kind?
The Oak Ridge area's chance of a white Christmas is little, but Santa will likely feel more at home than he usually is when visiting the Secret City.
The weather forecast - as of Tuesday morning - showed sunny skies and a high of 51 Wednesday, with increasing clouds overnight and a 50% chance of rain, mainly after 1 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The low overnight is expected to be 38.
Thursday and Friday are when the winter weather fun begins.
The high for Thursday is expected to be 49, dropping to a low of 14 overnight. Winds are expecting to increase overnight to 10 to 15 mph after midnight. The chance of rain is 60% during the day and 100% overnight Thursday-Friday.
The weather forecasters are predicting rain before 2 a.m. Friday, rain and snow likely between 2 and 3 a.m. - then snow after 3 a.m. As is normal with East Tennessee weather, this could change. Winds are expected to gust as high as 25 mph.
There's a slight chance of flurries on Friday, with the temperature only expected to reach 18, according to the weather website. The precipitation chance is 30% but windy. Gusts could reach 35 mph.
And Friday night's low? A chilly 6 degrees.
Bundle up for Christmas Eve services, whether they are held during the day or night. The high and low is predicted to be 23 and 11, but no precipitation of any form is expected.
On Christmas Day. it will be mostly sunny with a high and low of 29 and 11.
The U.S. may experience what is being described as “the coldest air of the season” as a strong arctic front marches across the eastern two-thirds of the country days before Christmas, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
The most significant impacts are expected later Wednesday night as cold air dives south across the Plains. South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado are likely to receive a little snow late Wednesday followed by frigid temperatures,
Like in Oak Ridge, the storm is expected to result in mostly rain and wind across the Ohio Valley and along the East Coast in cities such as Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia and Boston on Thursday and Friday.
Ashley R. Williams of USA TODAY contributed to this story.
The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Contact her at dsmith@oakridger.com. Follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Oak Ridge weather: Freezing temps, gusty winds coming for Christmas
