If you've been basking in this week's warm weather as you've been doing your Christmas shopping, get ready to bundle up again.

According to Robert Beasley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, showers late in the day today will be followed by a very cold, windy Sunday.

Beasley said Gainesville, Athens and Atlanta likely won't see any more than one-quarter of an inch of rain today. The rest of the state and much of the Southeast is likely to get significant rain, he said, with the Valdosta area having the potential for one to two inches of rain.

Beasley said to expect highs Sunday in the 40s with sustained winds of 20-25 mph. Temperatures may actually fall during the day, dropping into the 30s by Sunday afternoon, he said.

The cold and wind will linger into Monday, where folks will wake up to wind chills down into the teens, Beasley said. Temperatures should warm back to the seasonable range, low to mid-50s for the high, later in the week.

"Most of next week looks really pretty and really more Christmasy than this past week," he said.
Looking ahead to the long-range forecast, Beasley said the Gainesville area has about three or four more chances for rain through the end of the year, including the potential for quite a storm on Christmas Day. Such long-range forecasts aren't reliable, Beasley said, but the precipitation picture looks good.

But unfortunately, no, it won't be a white Christmas.