Rain will scoot through early Wednesday, with a few hints at sunshine in the mid/late morning. As the storm continues to develop to our north, any sun will be swallowed up by clouds as a final round of showers comes through later in the afternoon and evening.

All in all, not a horrible start to the new year, and certainly not that cold, with highs nearing 50.

That will change in the coming days. Our main focus will be the increasing winds late Wednesday night and Thursday.

Howling gusts between 45-55 mph are in order as the mid-atmosphere responds to the deepening storm center in the Gaspe Peninsula far to our north. These winds will be capable of some damage and possibly a few isolated power outages. Colder air will eventually surge in as well, dropping us into the 40s Thursday and 30s on Friday. Thankfully, the winds won’t be as fierce Friday, but we’re still seeing some gusts from time to time.

This weekend, we’ll establish the pattern that will carry us through much of next week. It stays quiet and cold, with occasional increases in wind as storms move by to the south and then far offshore.

In fact, a fairly decent snowfall is on tap from the Mid-South to the Mid-Atlantic late Sunday into Monday, which acts to sharpen the cold over us through the middle of the week.

Happy New Year!

A gas station in East Hartford was robbed early on New Year’s Day and police are trying to identify the two armed robbers.

Police said two males with guns robbed the Citgo gas station at 1259 Burnside Ave. just after 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The clerks said one robber went behind the counter and demanded cash and the other stood by the door, possibly as a lookout.  

The robbers stole around $300 in cash and coins, then ran across Burnside Avenue, police said.

No one was hurt and the police said they have not taken any suspects into custody.

Police are investigating and waiting on more video surveillance.