Mostly cloudy and much cooler first half of the weekend; much of the same expected on Sunday

Lots of cloud cover over the Downtown Jackson area on Saturday

Lots of cloud cover and much cooler temperatures marked the first half of the 2nd weekend in March.

The state, while dealing with off and on thunderstorms over the past week enjoyed some of the warmest temperatures the state has experienced all year.

In a matter of fact, the 79 degree high temperature on Thursday in Jackson was the warmest temperature since October 30, 2009.

WARMEST TEMPERATURES SINCE......

• MERIDIAN 76 ON WED/THURS-WARMEST SINCE NOVEMBER 16, 2009
• HATTIESBURG 79 ON THURS-WARMEST SINCE OCTOBER 30, 2009
• VICKSBURG 79 ON WED/THURS-WARMEST SINCE NOVEMBER 10, 2009
• GREENVILLE 77 ON WED-WARMEST SINCE NOVEMBER 10, 2009
• NATCHEZ 79 ON THURS-WARMEST SINCE OCTOBER 29, 2009
• TUPELO 75 ON WED-WARMEST SINCE OCTOBER 30, 2009
• MCCOMB 79 ON THURS-WARMEST SINCE OCTOBER 30, 2009
• GULFPORT 74 ON FRI-WARMEST SINCE JANUARY 21, 2010
   

After the warmest temperatures in quite sometime,  temperatures struggled to only reach into the mid 50s on Saturday across much of Central and Northern Mississippi, primarily north of Interstate 20, due to cloud cover. 

Cloud cover breaks up during Saturday afternoon in Vicksburg

The high temperature only reached 56 in Jackson, 53 in Tupelo and Meridian and 54 in Greenville.

Where more sunshine occurred, temperatures managed to rise into the low 60s and this was the case, mainly across South Mississippi.

Vicksburg and McComb reached an high temperature of 62,  Hattiesburg reached 64 degrees and Biloxi reached 66 degrees.

Cloudy skies over Philadelphia on Saturday

A cloud shield associated with minor disturbances around the backside of a slowly departing upper level low pressure center was affecting the state on Saturday and will continue to affect the state on Sunday.

Cloudy skies over Tupelo on Saturday

So much of the same is expected across the state on Sunday with a little more sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures across Central Mississippi.

High temperatures in the low 60s along and south of Interstate 20 with mid to upper 60s expected along the coast.

North of Interstate 20, most areas will fail to reach the 60 degree mark for the 2nd day in a row, due to thick cloud cover. 

If sunshine manages to break through the clouds, temperatures could warm more than forecast.

SELECT HIGH TEMPS ON SUNDAY

Mostly cloudy skies over Mississippi State University on Saturday

Looking ahead, a fairly calm week of weather is expected with temperatures slowly warming through the 60s as the week progresses.

Low temperatures will average in the low to mid 40s across the state.

There will be quite a bit of cloud cover across mainly Northern and Central Mississippi through the upcoming week with perhaps some chance of showers affecting the state on Wednesday, but this appears to be very minor at this time.

Regardless, everyone should continue to stay weather conscious as we are in the midst of severe weather season with March known for its rapid changes in weather.

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