Record Set on Tuesday

2008 will go down in the record books for the warmest temperature recorded on January 8. Yesterday's high of 73 at RDU beat the old record of 71 set in 2005.

Temperatures are starting out very warm for January again as I write this blog post Wednesday morning. The lowest hourly reading from RDU so far has been 60 -- that's 10 degrees above the normal high for this time of year! Highs today should climb into the upper 60s to near 70. The record high for today currently stands at 72 set in 1965.

We're still monitoring a few weather systems that will affect our weather over the coming days. One will bring cloudy skies, cooler temperatures, and some light showers our way for Thursday. Highs should only climb into the mid 50s around the Triangle tomorrow with readings near 60 expected in the Sandhills. Look for temperatures to then climb into the low to mid 60s by Friday morning when another cold front will move across the state bringing showers and thunderstorms.

Like some politicians this time of year, our long range computer models have been "flip-flopping" back and forth with the forecast for the last half of the weekend. We'll be watching for the possibility of a coastal low developing Sunday. One model this morning kept the low out to sea keeping us dry. Other models have a more westerly track for the low bringing us a chance for a cold rain late Sunday. Earlier this week, there was some question as to whether there would be enough cold air to change that cold rain into some type of wintry precipitation. That is not the most likely solution at this point, but still not out of the realm of possibilites. Stay tuned as we continue to fine tune that forecast...