New Year's Forecast

Did you know that 2011 was the 3rd wettest year in Cookeville's recorded history? More on that below.


SUNSHINE:
A gorgeous end to the 2011 year as we'll hit 56° (or even higher) later this afternoon. Our morning low was 34.9° at just after 7 am. Enjoy this day as it'll be our last warm one for at least a week.

YOUR NEW YEAR'S EVE FORECAST:
Clouds move in later this evening and I expect a temperature of around 46° by the time 2012 rolls in. A few sprinkles may interrupt your plans IF you are out in the early morning hours, however, I don't see a good chance for that happening.

NEW YEAR'S DAY AND AHEAD:
Gusty northwest winds for New Year's Day and a high of 51° before temperatures fall during the late afternoon hours. It'll feel quite brisk. Clearing skies on Sunday night with a low of 27° by Monday morning and Monday's highs will only be in the mid 30's under sunny skies. A very brisk northwest wind will gust to 30 mph making the 'feels like' in the lower 20's. Bitter cold on Monday night with a low of 18° by Tuesday at sunrise and highs only getting to freezing on Tuesday afternoon with winds dying down.

*Latest Local Forecast*

Cookeville's Daily Almanac
This morning's low: 34.9°
Friday's high: 60.4° (with a 32 mph wind gust!)
Friday's low: 46.8°
Last Year: 53° and 44°
Normal High: 46°
Normal Low: 27°
Records: 71° in 1990 and 1° in 1983

DECEMBER 2011 Climatology:
December has been a warm and wet month. Average daily highs have been 52.8°, which is 3.5° above normal (the record was 59.4° back in 1933) and the average daily low has been 31.4°, which is 2.9° above normal. The record is 18° from 1989. Last December was very cold with an average high of 39.9° and an average low of 22.7°.

No snowfall was recorded in December. The record is 10.0" from 1916.

We've recorded 5.55" of rain in December and a whopping 73.34" for the year, which is the third wettest year in Cookeville's recorded history (from 1914-present). This is 16" ahead of a normal year and just short of the record of 76+ inches that was recorded in 1998.

Big Weather Changes for New Year

NICE 2 DAYS AHEAD:
Gorgeous Friday with a slight chance of rain, high in the upper 50's today across the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee. We do have a slight chance (only about 20%) for a shower. Partly cloudy tonight with a low of 36° by sunrise on Saturday.

WEEKEND FORECAST:
Saturday is expected to be the best day as we'll see sunny skies and warm temperatures with light winds. The high will be around 57°. Rain returns for Saturday night (New Year's Eve) and New Year's Day on Sunday. The low will be 43° with the high of 49°. Rain chances right now look to be slight, but that could change to a better chance.

HERE COMES THE COLD:
Temperatures will plunge New Year's night as an Arctic cold front ushers in the coldest air this season. Expect 26° by Monday morning and highs will only creep up to 35° with a low on Monday night of 18°.

SCHOOL START FORECAST:
Schools start back across the Highlands of Tennessee on Tuesday and you'll want to bundle up your kids as 7 am temps will be in the higher teens. The high Tuesday is only expected to reach 35°.

*Latest Local Forecast*

Rain and Chilly, Snow Late

An interesting forecast ahead. We've seen 1.37" of rainfall since it began last evening. I do expect rain to continue today but begin to wrap-up this afternoon. Tonight, we'll see a slight chance of rain showers changing to snow showers before all of the precipitation moves out. No accumulation of snow is expected.

Beyond today, it'll be quite cold on Wednesday with sunshine returning and a high of 43°. Then we warm to the 50's for Thursday through Saturday. Our next rain chance occurs New Year's eve and stretches through New Year's Day.

Wondering when we'll see some real snow? Check out this very interesting article on how our weather patterns are changing!

*Latest Local Forecast*

Christmas Forecast

Back after a trip to Washington DC for work and a family vacation. Looking forward to Christmas!

Looks like rain is ending across the Upper Cumberland tonight. Chilly with lows in the upper 30's tonight. Slight drizzle chances early Friday with a high of 49.

Christmas eve.....sunny....high 49
Christmas day.....sunny...high 49

Christmas Forecast

Back after a trip to Washington DC for work and a family vacation. Looking forward to Christmas!

Looks like rain is ending across the Upper Cumberland tonight. Chilly with lows in the upper 30's tonight. Slight drizzle chances early Friday with a high of 49.

Christmas eve.....sunny....high 49
Christmas day.....sunny...high 49

Cold and Steady Rain

A yuck kind of day across the Upper Cumberland and Highlands region of Tennessee as steady rain and chilly temperatures are on tap.

Currently at 5:40 am, we stand at 40 degrees in Cookeville and I expect those temperatures to do nothing but stay steady or drop a degree or so as we go through the rest of today.

Eventually the rains lightens late in the day and we clear overnight with a good chance of early morning fog. Expect Saturday to be chilly, but sunny with highs in the mid 40's while Sunday will be warmer with highs around 50.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Good morning Cookeville....expect rain and windy conditions today with a high of 65° and wind gusts to 25 mph. Chance of rain is 80%. We may hear a rumble of thunder today as well. Tonight, cooler with a low of 41° and a 50% chance of showers.

For Friday, a good chance of rain once again with a high of just 47°.

The weekend ahead looks nice but cool with a high on Saturday of 47° under a sunny sky and a high on Sunday of 53° and continued sunny skies.

Enjoy your Thursday!

*Latest Local Forecast*

Coldest Air Yet

BITTER COLD TONIGHT:
We only saw a high of 41° today in Cookeville, TN with a steady north wind for most of the day. Overnight, we expect temperatures to drop to around 22° by sunrise on Sunday under a clear sky and the wind should be calm.

TITAN FORECAST:
Tennessee Titan tailgaters will be a bit chilly in the early morning as temperatures rise from the teens at sunrise. By 9 am, it should be right around 31° and 43° by kickoff versus the New Orleans Saints. It'll warm a few more degrees by the 4th quarter and those of you fortunate enough to be in the sun will certainly enjoy the warmth.

For Sunday, here in Cookeville, expect plenty of sunshine...a cold start, of course but temperatures recover to around 46° by mid-afternoon. Not as cold Sunday night with a low around freezing. Mostly sunny on Monday, high 52°. Even warmer on Tuesday, high 57° with rain entering the picture by Tuesday night and Wednesday where the high will be 58°.

*Latest Local Forecast*

Frosty, Cold Start - Sunny Day

We went all the way down to 23.6° this morning in Cookeville, TN and expect to rise to near 48° by later this afternoon. Currently at just after 7 am, it is 25.1° with plenty of frost. Some areas near lakes, rivers, and streams are dealing with freezing fog this morning. This may cause locally hazardous driving conditions in those areas.

I expect a sunny run of weather all the way through Monday. The one kicker in the weekend forecast is a dry cold front will run through the area later this evening and bringing a north wind and colder conditions with highs struggling to reach 40° on Saturday. This will be very short-lived as we go to 48° on Sunday after a morning low around 22°. Some locations may see teens for the first time this season.

Next chance for rain does come until Tuesday, but hangs around for several days.

*Latest Local Forecast*

Winter Weather Advisory Today

Snow is in the forecast for the Cookeville, TN area and several other counties across Tennessee today. We expect this snow event to spread eastward through the day. This means areas to our west will see the rain to snow changeover first. The Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 9 am to 6 pm this evening.

Snow amounts are generally expected to be around 1" for most of us with 1-2" amounts for the eastern higher elevations of the Cumberland Plateau, such as Jamestown, Monterey, Clarkrange, and others.

Look for temperatures to fall as the day goes on. We're currently at 38° and will be backing off to around 32° after lunch. This should change the rain event to all snow.

I do expect us to recover from the snow event with highs in the mid 40's on Thursday and Friday. Saturday will be chillier with a high in the low 40's and mid 40's return for Sunday. We are in a cold pattern right now!

*Latest Local Forecast*

Where Is The Rain?

This might be a question you are asking this morning if you live in the Cookeville, TN area. The short answer is "On it's way"...the longer answer follows.

Rain is expected to develop this afternoon over the Upper Cumberland. It is part of a slow-moving system that was expected to arrive more than 24 hours earlier. The front, which is bringing us the rain, hasn't moved much in the last eight hours, but is expected to move a bit faster this afternoon. Highs are only expected around 59° today with a low of 44° tonight and 52° on Tuesday. Expect rain this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow, and continuing through Wednesday night where the rain may mix with snow.

Behind this rainmaking cold front is much cooler air. High are only expected to reach the middle to upper 40's for Thursday.

*Latest Local Forecast*

Here Comes The Rain!

Working on the upcoming forecast this morning and the news is great IF you like rain! I have several links for you to view today. The first is called the 'Hourly Forecast Graph', a very interesting and detailed link.

The next link goes to a graphic showing the November 2011 Rain Amounts across Tennessee. Here in Putnam County, the prevailing amounts ranged from just under 8" to nearly 11". Much of this came toward the end of the month.

For today (Sunday), the rain shows up later this afternoon and lingers through Wednesday with the heaviest rains likely Monday and Monday night. (Sorry about that due to the Cookeville Christmas Parade that was rescheduled due to rain from last Monday night to the upcoming Monday night). 1-2" of rain total for this event won't be uncommon here in the Cookeville area but more than 2-5" for portions of west Tennessee. Several graphics are available today (Sunday) over at the Nashville Weather Forecast Office of the National Weather Service.

*Latest Local Forecast*

Behind the rain event is a possibility of snow for Wednesday and Thursday. Look for temperatures to be MUCH COLDER Friday and into the weekend. At this point, we see highs in the low 40's and lows in the 20's.

Finally, I need to give credit where credit is due. In last Saturday's post "Big Forecast Changes", I used a gorgeous photo of two dear against the snow. I need to give credit to Brian Tang who took that fantastic shot! Thank you Brian for use of your photo.

Championship Weather for Championship Saturday

The Tennessee State High School Football Championships (TSSAA website) are being held right here in Cookeville at Tennessee Tech University's Tucker Stadium. The 2A, 4A, and 6A champions will be decided today and the weather couldn't be more splendid for early December as we expect highs to reach 62° this afternoon with a nice south southwest wind of just 5-10 mph.

On Friday, Wayne County completed a perfect season with a 27-14 victory over South Pittsburg while Christian Academy of Knoxville defeated Milan 49-14 and in the nightcap, Henry County also finishes undefeated with a 17-14 victory over Powell in one of the best high school football games ever in front of a near-capacity crowd.

Today, it's Dresden vs. Friendship Christian in the 2A game, Maplewood vs. Greeneville in the 4A game, and the big one in 6A pits Whitehaven out of Memphis against legendary powerhouse Maryville. Both teams are undefeated this season and both teams dismantled two of the better teams in the state semi-finals on their way to the championship game in Cookeville.

*Latest Local Forecast*

The rain holds off today, but clouds roll in tonight and a slight chance of rain for Sunday, high 59°. Rain continues, Sunday night, Monday, Tuesday, and turns to a rain/snow mix Tuesday night and all snow Wednesday. According to the Hydrologic Outlook, the potential is there for 3-5 inches of rainfall with some areas possibly receiving more. With the ground already wet from the 4.57" last week here in Cookeville, there is a potential for quick flooding during the next several days.

Freezing Fog Early, Then Sunny

ALERT:
Another morning of freezing fog across middle Tennessee. Yesterday, near Hendersonville, some 170 cars were involved in a pile-up with 40 of them being damaged and unfortunately, one person lost their life due to freezing fog.

HOW IT FORMS:
This fog is forming once again near areas of water such as lakes, streams, rivers, etc because those bodies of water are much warmer than the air temperatures. Due to temperatures being below freezing, the fog is settling on roadways and is freezing. This causes hazardous driving conditions, including slippery roadways. If you drive into fog, keep plenty of distance between you and other vehicles, use your low beam headlights, SLOW DOWN, and be aware of possible icy conditions.

*Freezing Fog Advisory*

*Latest Local Forecast*

We do expect a warm day across the area with highs reaching 57° by this afternoon and in the 60's on Saturday with rain coming on Sunday and highs near 60°. The rain stays around through Tuesday and there is a chance the upcoming rain event may be ever heavier than last week's 4.57"....lets hope not! The rain will end as a rain/snow mix on Tuesday night. Cold weather for Wednesday and Thursday.

Frosty Start, Warm Up Ahead

Plenty of frost to greet you this morning across Tennessee. We're at 23° here in Cookeville. The great news is we'll run on up to 55° under sunny skies and a calm wind. We'll do even better on Friday with a high of 57° and better yet Saturday with a high of 62°. If you take a peek at the 7-day forecast, you'll see the end of it showing a possible return to winter weather.

Anyone remember the big snows from winter one year ago? The National Weather Service office in Nashville has few pictures to show off...click her for more!

*Latest Local Forecast*

Want to know what the next 6-10 days holds weather wise? Click here....