Weather Thru May 18

Review: A pretty good week for forecasting this week, but today (Sat) is a real bust. The rain came 24 hours earlier than I thought a week ago. But that’s not too bad considering the front will move through late tonight, giving us a decent Mother’s Day. So that is a good thing.

This next week will feature some very chilly air. Near record all time cold temps for some to our west (lows may dip to 20 or lower in some Western PA valleys Mon night/Tue morning), but a warming trend for the end of the week. This is how I see it:

• Sun – Mon – Tue:  Mostly sunny skies over all, although clouds will tend to increase each afternoon, esp. Sun and Mon.  A brief shower may be possible Mon, but highly unlikely.  Daytime temps will average near 60 Sun, mid 50s at best Mon and low 60s Tue.
  

• Frost/Freeze Mon night: This could be serious. Temps could drop below 30 for many areas locales if the winds are calm all night. That will be the key. When do the winds die down?  If it is still breezy at 9 pm, that will be good. But if they are calm by 6 pm … watch out. Protect those vulnerable plants. This will be the last serious frost/freeze threat for this spring. 
  

•  Wed: possibly the worst day of the week. Clouds thichen early as a warm front tries to move through. Some showers are possible with it. Nothing heavy. Very chilly with temps struggling to reach 60 or the low 60s.   
  

• Thu: Clouds and sunshine with chance of showers/thunderstorms as the warm area is shoved off to our south by a front from the northwest. Temps will try to climb into the 70s and maybe even near 80. 
  

• Fri – Sat – Sun: Seasonal with temps in the lower to mid 70s which is about where we should be for the middle of May.  Friday & Sat look to be dry with some nice sunshine. Sun and the following Mon look more unsettled with some showers/thunderstorms. 
  

Hint thru May 25: Memorial Day weekend will be coming soon. It looks right now that the week leading up to it, will not be hot, but probably on the chillier side. Warmth will be to the west, such that it could feed showers and thunderstorms as the warmer air ties to move North and East. Timing of these small systems is very difficult at best, even two days in advance … over-all fairly average, but tilted a little on the cool side.