Prepare for our first harsh taste of winter

Jacksonville, FL — Prepare for another wet, cold day with periods of light to heavy downpours .  And when it's not raining heavily it's going to be a light drizzle.  Temps will be stuck in the 50’s.

PODCAST:  Mike Buresh tracks harsh taste of winter weather

Action News Jax Chief Meteorologist Mike Buresh says everybody gets rain by tonight and overnight, with half an inch or an inch expected for much of the area.  Localized, the amounts could be as much as 2’’.   Mike says it’s a harsh taste of early winter weather that will last through the weekend.

“I really don’t see temperatures getting back to above average anytime soon. Probably for the next 10-14 days. This is a long stretch of a major pattern change now. It will be the longest stretch of below average temperatures arguably since 2016”.

Expect a widespread inland freeze for Sunday and Monday morning with temps in the low 30's nearly everywhere except near the St. Johns River, Intracoastal, and the beaches.

At least we won’t see snow.  A wintry mix of precipitation is threatening several Deep South states.

Meteorologist David Nadler, at the National Weather Service's office near Atlanta, says it would be the season's first snow. His agency issued winter weather advisories for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Affected areas include such cities as Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and Birmingham, Alabama.