Although Warren County and the rest of Central Mississippi will see colder temperatures over the New Year holiday, snow is an unlikely part of this weekend’s forecast.

“We are going to remain in this warm pattern for another couple of days,” said Daniel Lamb, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson. “Rain chances through early in the day Saturday are going to be fairly low. For people who are planning to stay up to ring in the New Year, we can’t rule out some showers (that evening), but we aren’t expecting any kind of widespread rain for New Year’s night or day.”

Lamb said a cold front bringing temperatures that are more normal for this time of year is expected on New Year’s Day.

“(The cold front) could bring a higher chance of thunderstorms across the region,” Lamb said. “Some could be severe, with the potential for damaging wind gusts, hail up to quarter-size and possible tornadoes for much of Central and Northern Mississippi from the afternoon until the evening hours on Saturday.

“We will see temperatures fall pretty drastically,” he said. “It is going to be a shock to the system for a lot of folks. By Saturday morning, temperatures will fall probably to the 30s. It will be windy and cold, the wind chill will make it feel like it is below freezing.”

Lamb said Sunday will remain cloudy and to expect temperatures to hold steady or to fall throughout the day, remaining in the 30- to 40-degree range. While there is a potential for snow flurries, no hazardous conditions are expected.

“There is some potential, as the rain ends, we could see a few snow flurries Sunday,” Lamb said. “We aren’t looking for any kind of impact with that. The ground will be quite warm.”

Lamb said Monday would be cold, with temperatures below freezing that night into Tuesday morning.