Unseasonably warm air surged across the area over the weekend. Highs on Saturday reached the upper 50s and lower 60s in many locations, and highs Sunday cracked 70° across parts of the state. The normal high for this point of the year is around 50°. Sunday’s record high is 75° from 1925.
The most recent 70° day was January 4, but Sunday’s high in Richmond marked the warmest temperature since December 1. This was the first weekend of 60° or higher since late December, and the first three-day stretch of 60°+ since the end of November.
One cold front will move through on Monday, bringing seasonable temperatures back to the area for Tuesday through Thursday. A very strong cold front will pass through on Thursday, ushering in another blast of arctic air for the end of the week. Temperatures will try to moderate slightly between Friday and Saturday, but a reinforcing shot of arctic air will plunge across the region again on Sunday.
Computer models are suggesting the possibility of another arctic surge sometime next week. When these shots of cold air arrive, they will not last very long, as they did last winter.
