Wintry and wet pattern kicks off the New Year, and will persist into the weekend

Happy New Year.

The area is going to be dealing with a series of rain and some high elevation snow for the next three days.  The air is expected to be mild enough this week to generate mostly rain during the day and if there is precipitation at night, it will be a mix of rain and snow. 

Patchy fog has developed, below is a map of the fog in the region at 7pm Wednesday. This will be varied through the night, but slick roads may occur as some areas are below freezing and freezing fog is possible.

There is also a slight chance for some Freezing Rain to develop tonight, not much, but worthy of making a note of it. Freezing rain is rain that freezes on contact and builds up an icy glaze on most anything that is below freezing. As you can see from the map I don't see much accumulation or any at lower elevations. Still, if you are traveling through the mountain passes, or up to Bachelor Thursday morning, be aware of some icy spots.

In addition to the lingering wintry pattern, some warmer air will make Thursday a bit milder and therefore rainy verses snowy.  A warm front will cross the region shortly and provide the milder air.  There will be widespread rainfall on Thursday that will also generate some fog and mist through the mountain passes. The passes will see rain on the snow which will cause some fog to develop, reducing visibility at times.

Friday will be rainy and cold with a chance for a mix of snow, rain. Some freezing rain is also possible early in the day.  Freezing rain is rain that freezes on contact and produces an icy glaze on trees, cars, your back deck, and streets.  This is not expected to be a widespread event, but some spots in Jefferson County will see icy conditions in the morning.  

Saturday will be the last day of wet weather for a spell as the parade of low pressure systems and fronts will end.  There may be a bit of snow with mostly rain on Saturday, similar to what we have been dealing with for the past week or so.  The accumulation of snow will be light, and the rain will be off and on.  Expect to see a few areas of black ice on some elevated road surfaces. 

Sunday begins the dry period, and that looks to linger into the first full week of the New Year.

Please stay safe.

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