MORGANTOWN — The new year is starting off a little warmer than usual, with a chance of rain as the weekend approaches.
Today’s high should reach about 40 degrees, a little less chilly than normal, according to Dan Pydynowski, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather. He said to expect a mixture of sun and clouds throughout the day.
Thursday will see a high of 45 with more sun and clouds.
A storm system centered south of Morgantown could bring some precipitation Friday, Pydynowski said. The temperature is expected to be in the mid-40’s, so if the storm does make its way to Morgantown, expect rain, he said.
Depending how the storm moves, rain could continue into Saturday morning while the temperature is expected to stay in the 40’s, Pydynowski said.
Typically, the first week of January has an average temperature of 39 degrees, he said.
Speaking of warmer days, Pydynowski said the average temperature for 2018 was 54.4 degrees — about 2 degrees hotter than normal.
The hottest days of the year were July 3 and 4, with highs of 93 degrees. Hot, but no record, Pydynowski said.
The morning of Jan. 7 almost reached a record low. The temperature fell to -6 degrees, just one short of tying the -7 degree record. It was the coldest day of 2018.
It may have seemed like it never stopped raining in the back half of 2018, but that’s because the Morgantown area saw 54.24 inches of total precipitation — melted snow and rainfall combined. A typical year brings about 41.75 inches of total precipitation, meaning 2018 saw roughly 1.5 feet more rain than normal, he said.
“It was a pretty wet year,” Pydynowski said.
September was especially wet. Sept. 9 and 10 alone exceeded the average rainfall for the month. Sept. 9 brought 2.77 inches, and another 1.21 inches of rain fell Sept. 10 for a total of 3.98 inches, a touch above the month’s average of 3.16 inches, Pydynowski said.
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