Despite this morning’s highs in the 50s, temperatures will drop quickly throughout the day and snow could be on the horizon this evening.

Tuesday, January 04, 2000

Despite this morning’s highs in the 50s, temperatures will drop quickly throughout the day and snow could be on the horizon this evening.

A cold front moved into the Lawrence County area from the west early this morning, said Matt Belk, meteorologist with the Charleston, W.Va., Bureau of the National Weather Service.

"At this hour, (9 a.m.), Huntington, (W.Va.), is 52 degrees, Cincinnati, 41, and Indianapolis, 33, and the wind’s to the west," Belk said. "The air in Indianapolis is going to get here."

By this afternoon, temperatures are expected to fall into the 40s, and even lower before the evening gets here, Belk added.

"The colder air is on its way," he said. "It’s going to get cold enough for snow, but we need to have a way of lifting some moisture before we’ll get the snow. That won’t happen until this evening, not until about 7 p.m."

Accumulation is doubtful, however, with the amount of moisture in the ground, Belk said.

"Any snow we get is pretty much going to be snow showers," he said "With the ground so wet, the snow should melt, at least at first. We could see an inch or so, or it could be just a trace. It will depend on where you are. It’s not going to be a major blizzard, though."

This cold air will not stay around for long. Temperatures should warm up again by the end of the week, Belk said.

"The cold air front’s already gone through," he said. "We’ll have cold air pretty much from tomorrow on into Wednesday night."

Lows will reach the mid-20s tonight. Wednesday, temperatures will be in the mid-30s during the day before dropping back down to the lower 20s that night, Belk said.

"We’ll rebound into the 40s Thursday," he said. "This is just a brief shot of cold air."

The temperature variance this year can be blamed on La Nina, Belk said.

"We’re in a moderate La Nina and what that typically means for us is great variability in temperatures," he said. "It will go from being really, really warm to really, really cold."