"Back Door" Cold Front

A "back door" cold front is making progress through the Commonwealth this Tuesday, generally tracking from the north-northeast to the south-southwest (hence, the name, "back door"). Temperatures are falling behind the front with the northeast wind shift into the upper-50's and low-60's. In addition, skies are becoming mostly cloudy with this system, and scattered light rain showers are tracking south. Here is the surface map at 12:42 p.m.

And here is the visible satellite image from about the same time:

You can see how temperatures have warmed with mostly sunny skies into the low-70's ahead of the front, whereas northern Virginia temperatures have been significantly impacted by the northeast wind, the cloud-cover, and the light rain. This front will be south of the Commonwealth by early this evening, keeping us mostly cloudy and cool overnight. Showers will continue to be possible from later this afternoon through the evening. Even though cloud-cover will gradually decrease through the day Wednesday, temperatures will still be cooler as a result of this cooler air mass moving into the Mid-Atlantic. Surface high pressure over the South will expand back into the Mid-Atlantic Thursday and Friday though, returning highs into the 70's.