Winter arrives Sunday

December 20, 1997

Winter arrives Sunday

Winter arrives today, bringing with it a return to cooler air that seems more suited to the season.

"We're going to be pretty chilly the next few days," said Jim Vaughn, a National Weather Service meteorologist who lives near Smithsburg.

Today temperatures are expected to peak in the low 40s and the high could dip into the 30s on Monday.

It's a stark change to the above-average temperatures the area has been basking in for the past several days. Last Tuesday a record high of 60 degrees was reached in Hagerstown, surpassing the previous mark for Dec. 16, which was 59 degrees in 1971.

There was another 60-degree day on Friday, but that fell short of the high for Dec. 19, which was a balmy 64 degrees in 1929.

A shift in the jet stream is the cause for the cooler temperatures moving in, Vaughn said.

But don't think that translates into a white Christmas. While there could be some rain early in the week, the precipitation will be long gone by the time this Thursday rolls around, Vaughn said.

"There's not a chance in the world" for a white Christmas, he said.

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