The rain falling in Floyd County and most of Southwest Virginia Saturday night and into the first day of December Sunday morning should taper off by 11 a.m. with temperatures climbing into the 50s in the afternoon.

Because of the weather, the Floyd Merchants Association postponed the annual Christmas Parade for Floyd from Sunday to next weekend (Dec. 8).

A wind advisory from the National Weather Service office in Blacksburg goes into effect at 10 a.m. Monday through noon Tuesday with cold gusts up to 50 miles per hour.

The high of around 56 Sunday will be the warmest for a while as the mercury is forecast to climb no higher than 37 on Monday with a sub-freezing low of 29 early Tuesday morning, then up to 40 during the day, 43 on Wednesday, 47 Thursday and 46 Friday.

But the heavy snows blasting into New England are not forecast for our area…at least not yet but a wintry mix is in the forecast for around noon on Monday.

Nationwide, the forecast is a mess in many areas:

• Low pressure will bring snow, ice and rain to the Northeast through early week.
• A foot or more of snow is expected in interior parts of the Northeast
• Boston, Hartford, Connecticut, and New York City could see their first measurable snow of the season.
• This storm system has brought snow and wind from the West Coast to the Plains and Midwest since last week.

Many of the millions of Americans who traveled this weekend are running into problems in parts of the nation.

“The amount of the population under a warning, advisory or watch is extensive — it’s in the millions,” said Meteorologist Brian Hurley at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. Hurley called the expanse of the storm “impressive”: What started as a deep cyclone off the West Coast has become a “coast-to-coast storm.”

The high winds forecast to hit this area Monday is already causing havoc in Chicago and the busiest airport in the nation.

American Auto Association spokeswoman Jeanette Casselano says the start of December begins a three-month period where 46 percent of serious auto crashes occur.

“Snow and sleet can cause significant safety problems by reducing visibility and making it difficult to safely maneuver or stop, but by being vigilant behind the wheel, motorists can help to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities,” Casselano said. She adds that fatal crashes peak during the first snowfall of the year.