THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070475
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Winter's not leaving without a fight.
Pleasant 70-degree temperatures are expected to yield late today or early Friday to much colder conditions as a powerful mass of frigid, wind-whipped air moves eastward across Virginia, forecasters said.
Expect cold and windy conditions Friday with temperatures hovering in the low 40s. Saturday and Sunday may be even colder with highs in the low 30s.
In other words, it will be a typically temperamental March, forecasters said.
The low-pressure system, which has been moving across the Midwest, will usher in temperatures 30 degrees or more lower than the unseasonably warm weather earlier this week, said Hugh Cobb a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Wakefield.
No snow is expected, Cobb said, but the winds - which began gusting between 15 and 25 mph this week - will pick up significantly throughout the weekend, making it seem even colder.
``We're looking primarily at some showers, some thunderstorms and high winds . . . possibly damaging in some areas,'' Cobb said, about today's conditions.
The cold marks a significant reversal from the weather earlier this week as temperatures climbed into the low to mid-70s, which is about 10 to 15 degrees above normal, Cobb said.
Southeastern Virginia may not see a return to springlike weather until sometime next week, he said.
The forecast for today calls for continued breezy and warm conditions with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs should be in the low 70s, with south winds gusting from 20 to 30 mph. The chance of rain is near 100 percent.
Friday: Partly sunny, breezy and cold with highs in the low 40s.
Saturday: Partly sunny but cold. Highs in the 30s, lows in the 20s.
Sunday: Cloudy with a chance of rain, highs in the 30s, lows in the teens. by CNB