FORECAST SUMMARY:
Friday, January 18th, 2019 through Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019
PM-2.5: 24-hour Fine Particulate concentrations are expected to be mostly Good through the forecast period.
FORECAST DISCUSSION:
A storm system will be passing south of the state Friday/Saturday. The track is close enough to bring snow later Friday into Saturday with the heaviest accumulations south towards the state border. Winds will be from a northeasterly direction much of Friday into Saturday keeping fine particulate levels mostly Good. Lighter winds earlier Friday could allow for a few monitors to hit low-end Moderate in the southeast; otherwise fine particulate will be Good.
On Sunday, high pressure starts settling in from the northwest, however, what should be noted is the cold air filtering in Saturday night into Sunday. Highs Sunday will struggle to reach the teens in the southern portions of the state with colder temperatures as you go north. Wind chills will be below zero at times so precautions should be taken if spending time outdoors to prevent frostbite. The cold temperatures will linger through Martin Luther King Day on Monday. Northerly winds Sunday should keep fine particulate Good, but winds weaken Monday as high pressure settles overhead. This could allow for some low-Moderates, generally in the more urban areas of the southeast.
EXTENDED FORECAST:
Extended models still show a storm system approaching the Great Lakes region Tuesday into Wednesday. This has the potential to be a strong winter storm; however, the exact track and strength isn’t certain this far out; it is something to keep an eye on. As for fine particulate, increasing southerly winds as the storm approaches should keep fine particulate from increasing much; readings Tuesday will range from middle Good to low-Moderate.