There's a nasty cold air damming event going on across the Piedmont this afternoon. Here in Podunk, North Carolina, our high temperature was supposed to be 68°F. The current temperature is 48°F. The wedge is cruel and stubborn.
1
I've seen this before. What causes this?
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North or northeasterly winds cause cold air to drain southwest through the Piedmont (foothills from Virginia to Georgia). The dense, cold air pools up against the base of the Appalachians because it can't ride up and over the peaks (stubby as they are), so it just sits in the Piedmont like a pond of misery. Dams of cold air are notoriously stubborn and it takes a long time for warm air to erode them—we didn't break out of the wedge and start warming up until about 1:00 AM.
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Sure, make me look up Piedmont. You could have saved me time by drawing an arrow on the map, but you didn't. So thanks. I hope you get coal. :/
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But the wedge has now broken and it is amaze-balls nice out.
