Lovely End to 2011

2011 is going out like a lamb here in central Va., it's almost hot outside feeling more like September than December. So get out and enjoy it. Just be careful tonight, there will be a lot of amateur partiers out there and they tend to make bad decisions. Don't you be one.
Sunny and mid sixties today with a south breeze and on into 2012. A cold front Monday will bring in some January air and we may dip into the teens for the first time this winter season. Enjoy the warmth while it's here winter will be back.
A 2.0 aftershock early morning xmas eve was the last quake in the central Va. quake zone where it has certainly been a wild year. We'll have to wait and see what 2012 has in store for us. Hang in there!!!

Cloudy and Mild December Tuesday

After a long break, the TOE returns on a fairly mild (seasonal, actually) December day in Central Va. The clouds will be around for awhile; a chance of rain will be in the forecast from late today all the way through  Christmas. Temperatures will remain high enough that it will be rain throughout although the mountains of Va. and WVa will likely see some of that moisture as snow. The blizzard in the southern plains will continue eastward but the warm air in the south and the jet stream way to the north is going to calm that wild storm down before it gets here.
La Nina seems to be settling in and is likely to make for a milder (can you say, "Global Warming", I knew you could) winter after two colder than normal years. Milder has been the trend for the 4 of the last 6 winters. But, it will still be winter and that officially starts at 12:30 EST early Thursday morning.