THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412290402
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Wednesday morning's frosty start quickly gave way to a springlike feel as temperatures more than doubled by afternoon. But the mercury is expected to dip back to chilly levels today - and get stuck there - for at least the next two weeks.
With an overnight low of 32, Wednesday dawned with a silver coat of frost on many lawns and gardens. That quickly melted away as temperatures reached a high of 65 at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport.
The normal high for this time of year is 49; the normal low is 33.
The high fell 11 degrees shy of the record for the date, 76 set in 1984. And the low was nowhere near the record of 11 set in 1925.
``It sure did not feel like winter today,'' said Ben W. Moyer, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Raleigh. ``However, by the end of the week, Old Man Winter will remind us that it is still December.''
A cold front was expected to pass through Virginia and North Carolina overnight, and a strong area of high pressure behind it should move southeast from central Canada, bringing much colder weather by Friday.
Meanwhile, a weak area of low pressure is expected to become better organized in the Gulf of Mexico and will spread clouds into the region today and Friday. Some snow is likely to fall in the western mountains of both states by the weekend, but it's too early to know how much.
The Hampton Roads forecast calls for sunny skies today, but breezy and cooler - with a high in the upper 40s and northerly winds at 15 to 20 mph.
Tonight should be partly cloudy with a low in the mid-30s along the coast and the upper 20s inland. Northeast winds should be at 10 to 15 mph.
Friday is expected to be partly sunny with a high in the mid-40s.
The outlook for the New Year's weekend calls for increasing cloudiness Saturday with a chance of afternoon rain. The low should be in the 30s; the high, in the 40s.
There is a chance of rain Sunday with a low near 40 and a high in the lower to mid-40s.
Monday should be partly cloudy, breezy and cold with a low in the 20s and a high near 40.
The weather service's climate analysis center in Washington predicts that the first week of the new year will bring below-normal temperatures in Virginia and North Carolina.
Folks who hope that will translate to snow will be disappointed, however. While it's possible there will be some, the long-range outlook calls for below-normal precipitation in the region. by CNB