Calvin Meadows, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Baltimore/Washington Office in Sterling, said a large, upper-level disturbance hanging over the Ohio Valley will spread rain — and snow in some high elevations — across the Winchester area today and Wednesday.

An upper-level disturbance is a high-altitude pocket of rotating air that often spawns unexpected showers.

Temperatures in Winchester are expected to range from the low 30s to the high 50s today and Wednesday, Meadows said. Rain will ease on Thursday, making way for a sunny day Friday.

With the temperature in the city hovering over the 55-degree mark Monday, many walkers on the Loudoun Street Mall continued to act as if it were still summer, sporting short-sleeve T-shirts and sucking fruit-filled smoothies.

The patio of the Daily Grind coffee shop on the corner of Loudoun and Boscawen streets was alive with people soaking in the last few moments of autumn warmth.

Meanwhile, sales associates at Bell’s continued to stock the clothing store’s shelves with scarves and leather gloves. The shop’s window display featured a rainbow of wool coats, some with buttons to the ground.

Even Julia Unger, a sales clerk in the store’s women’s department, said she was having second thoughts about her selected attire Monday.

“Today, I wish I’d worn my coat,” she said.

Though the feeling around the city may be one of denial, eventually Winchester-area residents will have to begin heating their homes.

For some, the cost of turning up the thermostat will be 50 percent more than last year. Residents who depend on gas furnaces to heat their homes will suffer a substantial price hike this year — a result of the escalating cost of oil.

That reality has some reaching to alternative heating methods, such as electric space heaters, wood stoves, and kerosene furnaces.

But each of those warming options has a different set of guidelines and safety concerns, said Winchester Fire and Rescue Capt. Gary Ganoe, and each should be treated with care.

Ganoe said city fire officials have not seen any heating-related problems so far this year, but that hasn’t stopped them from urging local consumers to follow some simple precautions to make sure stoves and heaters are properly installed and maintained.

Furnace, heater, and fireplace safety tips are posted on the city’s Web site, www.ci.winchester.va.us.

Frederick County Fire Marshal Karl Steudl said home fires are often the result of combustible materials, such as papers and linens, being stored too close to a furnace.

However, improperly maintained wood stoves and chimneys also cause destructive fires, Steudl said. He urges residents to clean their chimneys and stoves each year before they begin heating their home.

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