Pre-holiday weekend weather forecast

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -The long pre-holiday weekend is here and the weather is sure to be closely scrutinized as travel plans unfold. Let’s start out with a Saturday forecast which starts frosty cold before turning milder in the afternoon. Lows near 25 and highs at 55 will send a message to hunters in the woods to have a hot seat ready at dawn then be prepared to shed a layer or 2 by afternoon.

Sunday’s weather will feature a cloudier period with rain showers developing in the afternoon or evening. Highs back into the 50s assure rain over snow. Late Sunday night colder air will arrive after a cold frontal passage so rain may end as wet snow.

By Monday cold north winds will be in control as a chill seeps to the bones. The air temperature will hover in the 30s with a wind chill in the 20s all day long. Snow flurries are likely area-wide with accumulations likely confined to the high country. Travel across I-68 from Frostburg to Morgantown and along I-79 from Clarksburg to WVU and Pittsburgh will be slowed by off and on snow showers and strong winds.

Those winds will not only play a role in slower than normal road trips but will also likely impact flights out of Great Lakes airports like Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit.