Small Chance for Freezing Drizzle Monday Morning

Cold dry high pressure has wedged itself up against the mountains this evening. While at the same time a mid-level disturbance is moving along the Northern Gulf Coast states. This disturbance will provide just enough moisture to ride up and over the cold and very dry air mass in place over the piedmont & foothills of North Carolina late tonight & early Monday morning.

2011-12-11_1659This moisture will have a tough time reaching the surface due to the dry air. The problem is that same dry air will caused evaporative cooling and temperatures near the ground will likely cool very close to 30-32° by sunrise Monday morning. This combination of light drizzle and near freezing temperatures could cause some slick spots on elevated surfaces Monday morning. I expect this to be a very isolated occurrence but it won’t take much for a few patches of ice on a bridge or overpass to cause travel problems. I would caution all travelers early Monday morning to use caution especially if you see what looks like wet pavement or it’s drizzling on he way into work in the morning. the main threat will be across the foothills and mountain valleys but also isolated cold patches across the piedmont and Charlotte metro area. stay tuned for further updates at wcnc.com and my Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Model Data HRW 7:00am:

The left in the moisture and the right is the 2m temperatures. The dark blue is the where it’s 32° or lower.2011-12-11_1655_0012011-12-11_1656_002

Model Data NAM4 7:00am:

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