After a cold start to the month of December, we’ve quickly flipped the script as Christmas nears. Our cold front will give us one cold day before another warmup heads our way.
The Cool Day Between: Friday and Friday Night
Storms will be long time outta here by the time we wake up on our Friday morning, and we will be under the influence of what we in the biz call “cold air advection.” Basically: gusty northwest winds bringing in colder air.
Even with the potential for sunshine sneaking in as we dry the air out during the day, that’s not going to improve temperatures much at all. After flirting with 60º on Thursday, highs on Friday may not make it out of the 30s…maybe 40s at best.
I mean, not the coldest high we’ve seen so far this year, but coming off a mild stretch, that’ll raise an eyebrow or two.
Clear skies overnight will combine with relaxing winds to drag the low back below freezing, but not aggressively so. We’ll settle back into the upper 30s regionwide.
Mild Again: Saturday and Sunday
Following a brief visit by Old Man Winter, we’ll see a rebound back to milder temperatures as we head into what is normally one of the busiest weekends of the year.
Our amplified upper pattern will start to flatten out a bit, allowing southerly winds to take back over into the day on Saturday. That should help boost the mercury nicely, back into the lower to perhaps middle 50s. Now, that’s not a huge amount above normal, but it’s noticeable after the chilly start we’ve had this winter.
That warmer southerly flow will also transport a little moisture into the region. It won’t be a lot, but it may be enough to squeeze out some clouds and maybe a sprinkle when combined with a quick-hitting clipper-type from the north.
It won’t amount to much, but the clouds overnight on Saturday should keep us from falling below freezing, with lows in the upper to perhaps middle 30s.
As this system pulls away on Sunday, we’ll see another switch back to more northwesterly flow, but it looks short-lived again as we officially enter Astronomical Winter (9:03am, btw).
We’ll attempt to cool down, but the depth of the milder air will keep us from getting too cool during the day on Sunday as at least partly cloudy skies return. We’ll drop highs a couple degrees, but we should still expect readings to top out in the lower 50s for the afternoon. That mild trend continues into the overnight, with lows back into the middle 30s.
Merry Torchmas: Into Christmas Week
Even for people who aren’t the biggest fans of snow, many will still have a soft spot in their heart for the idea of waking up on Christmas morning and enjoying a cup of coffee or watching the kids open up presents while snow gently accumulates outside. Unfortunately, it’s not to be this year.
High pressure will continue to settle off to our south and east for Monday and Tuesday, with southerly winds on the back side ensuring we continue bringing up warmer and more moist air into the region.
Passing weak systems from the north may allow us to bring a few showers back into the forecast each afternoon. Rain showers, that is. High temperatures both afternoons will settle up into the middle and even upper 50s as we head toward Christmas Eve. That doesn’t seem very Christmasy.
The milder regime continues as we stretch into Christmas and Boxing Day itself. We’ll have to keep an eye out for some showers that will try to make an appearance, which will no doubt be rain because highs continue to look like we’ll be pushing 60º for Christmas Day. Someone tell Santa that he may want to swap the milk and cookies for some Gatorade to keep him cool.
That’s it for me for now! You can always keep up with the latest on all of our social media platforms. Have a tremendous day and a great weekend!