Chance Of Snow This Weekend

Winter is still officially about a week and a half away, but it looks there is the possibility of some snow this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

High pressure will built through Thursday, keeping temperatures in Madison and surrounding towns sunny and in the 40's during the day, and in the mid-20's at night. .

Then, as that high pressure system slowly retreats, some low pressure systems will affect the region late this weekend and into the middle of next week, bringing more unsettled weather, the NWS says. In Madison and surrounding towns, there is a chance of snow late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, if the forecast does not change again before then.

The start of winter is still a little more than a week away. This year, we will experience the earliest start to winter since 1896, according to the Farmer's Almanac. The winter solstice will arrive at 6:12 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 21 and the good news is that the days will start getting a little bit longer after that.

For those of you who really, really want a white Christmas, it's still too early to tell what exactly will be happening around here, but based on historical data analyzed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Climatic Data Center, the Connecticut shoreline looks like it has a 26 to 40 percent chance of having a white Christmas, defined as "a snow depth of at least 1 inch ... observed on December 25th."

If that isn't good enough, here is Accuweather's "Best Bets For A White Christmas." They say Mount Washington, NH is guaranteed to have a white Christmas, along with Fairbanks, AK; Marquette, MI; Salt Lake City, UT; Lake Placid, NY; Caribou, ME; Quebec City, Quebec; Mackinac Island, MI; and Rovaniemi, Finland.

Here is the NWS forecast for Madison and surrounding towns for the next seven days, as of Wednesday evening:

• Thursday Sunny, with a high near 43. North wind 3 to 6 mph.
• Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 25. Calm wind.
• Friday Sunny, with a high near 47. Calm wind becoming southwest 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
• Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 27. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph.
• Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.
• Saturday Night A chance of snow after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Sunday A chance of rain and snow. Cloudy, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
• Sunday Night A chance of rain and snow. Cloudy, with a low around 35. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
• Monday A chance of rain and snow. Cloudy, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
• Monday Night A chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
• Tuesday A chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
• Tuesday Night A chance of rain and snow. Cloudy, with a low around 31. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
• Wednesday A chance of rain and snow. Cloudy, with a high near 42. Chance of precipitation is 30%.