Forecast Last Updated at Friday, November 20, 2009 at 2:11PM

Relatively Pleasant through Saturday

Breezy conditions will relax this afternoon with winds becoming light tonight. Skies are mostly sunny and temperatures are near or slightly below normal for mid-late November. Valleys will be frosty tonight. We continue relatively quiet, pleasant weather through the daytime Saturday; however, high clouds will signal change to come. Clouds will thicken Saturday night, and rain will be possible by late Saturday night. Sunday will be cloudy, chilly, rainy, and foggy--not pleasant by any standard. Two dry fronts will pass through next week from the west--one Tuesday night/Wednesday and the other early Thursday. These fronts will bring a two-step process to much colder weather by Thanksgiving Day and "Black Friday".

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Friday Hi: 52 Lo: 33 Mostly clear; Seasonal temps; NW wind 10-20 mph becoming light tonight

Saturday Hi: 52 Lo: 38 Sun giving way to high clouds; Increasing clouds at night with rain possible late at night; Light NE wind becoming SE at night

Sunday Hi: 42 Lo: 39 Cloudy; Rain; Fog; Chilly; A yucko-weather day; East wind 5-10 mph

Monday Hi: 50 Lo: 38 Mostly cloudy; Light early AM rain or drizzle possible; Cool but not as chilly

Tuesday Hi: 52 Lo: 39 Mostly cloudy; Cool

Further Out

Wednesday - Mostly cloudy; Cooler; High in the upper 40s; Low in the lower 30s
Thursday - Mostly to partly cloudy; Turning colder; High in the mid 40s; Low in the upper 20s

Forecast Discussion

We get a break from rain through late Saturday with high pressure in control. Expect breezy conditions today but otherwise quiet weather with temperatures near normal for November. Valleys will be frosty tonight.

However, the seeds of change are being planted along the Texas Coast. Low pressure developing there will slide east along the Gulf Coast Saturday and then up the Atlantic Coast early next week. Saturday night, high pressure (by then centered in the Northeast U. S.) will wedge down the Appalachians. We'll see high clouds Saturday afternoon and evening thickening Saturday night. Rain will be possible by late Saturday night. Sunday will be rainy, chilly, cloudy, and foggy--remember Wednesday? Sunday will be worse.

Monday will begin with clouds with early light rain or drizzle possible. But we'll see the sun by Monday afternoon.

Next week will be "transition week"--a two step process to MUCH colder weather by Thursday night and Friday. Two fronts will move through from the west--one Tuesday night or early Wednesday, the other early Thanksgiving Day. Neither front will have much moisture to work with; so, we have taken rain out of the forecast. It's the change of airmasses that will be significant. Wednesday will be cooler. Much colder weather will be here by late Thanksgiving Day. "Black Friday" will be the coldest day of the season thus far by a wide margin.

Even though temperatures will be briefly milder the weekend after Thanksgiving, colder will be the basic theme from Thanksgiving through the first week of December.

Announcements

Ray's Weight Loss Keys

A few days ago, I mentioned that I was running the Asheville Marathon and that I had lost 75 pounds since the beginning of 2009. My next goal is to run the Charlotte Marathon in December. Countless emails have come in saying congratulations and asking how I did it. (Thanks for all those emails!!) So, here's the gist of my advice based on my experience.

• Decide to do it. (The most important tip of all.) When I say "decide to do it", make it a "whatever it takes, stick with it, will not waver from the path regardless" decision.
• Log what you eat. I use the calorie counter at everydayhealth.com. You have to sign up but it's free. (But I have a group of my ASU students working on a similar tool specifically designed for our area.)
• Realize that food is fuel. Treat food like you would gas for your car. "I need x number of calories today so that's how much fuel I'll put in." We would not put dirt in the car's gas tank because we are happy, sad, bored, excited, etc. or because everyone else was doing it. Why do we do that with our bodies? So eat for fuel not for social, craving, or emotional reasons.
• If you log what you eat, you'll learn to maximize volume of food for calories consumed. I targeted 1400-1500 calories a day and NEVER got hungry because I ate lots of volume and often. In general to maximize volume, one will eat lots of fruit, green vegetables, complex carbs, and protein (I ate lots of chicken, fish and pork, limited amounts of beef because of a gout problem.) Also, to maximize volume for calories consumed, drink little (preferably no) alcohol--a glass of red wine or light beer once in a long while, but you probably will not lose any weight on days you drink that. Finally, by logging foods, I realized that I was not getting enough fiber. My weight loss increased when I started getting more fiber.
• Eat 5-6 times a day. If you eat BEFORE getting hungry, you don't eat as much. Plus eating more often keeps our metabolism up. (Our bodies are built for "grazing".)
• Start exercising. Do what you can sustain for 30 minutes. 30 minutes non-stop is the key. Then gradually increase the intensity as you get in better shape--there's a fine line between pushing yourself and overdoing it.
  
  Err on the conservative side and gradually increase the intensity. But again... do what you can sustain for 30 minutes. When I started exercising (about 3 weeks after starting the diet on January 8), I could not run more than a half mile, but I did what I could. Last weekend, I ran a half marathon in 1 hr 50 min 47 sec. Slow and steady and persistent does win the race! Running is not for everyone but I enjoy it. Walking, running, cycling (I have a stationary bike at home now.), swimming, hiking, etc.; any of these will do.

The reward is HUGE!!!!! I feel like I'm 30 again--no exaggeration. My total cholesterol went from 190 to 144. Good cholesterol went from 20something to 49. Triglycerides are in the 40s. Blood pressure is 116/65 and resting pulse rate is 54. Feel like "I could kill a bear." In May, my doctor said "Ray, you have done a total body reset. I'm taking you off all meds and see what happens." I had a check-up two weeks ago--all still good. Dr. Harter literally did not recognize me at first.

No food tastes as good as being healthy feels!

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