Freeze Tonight and Again Saturday Night.

What a difference a day can make, particularly at this time of year.  Notice the 24 hour temperature change map as of mid-afternoon today as an example.  By the way, the record book for today will show 72 as the high temperature for the calendar day because that was the temperature shortly after midnight.  In fact, the cool front arrived around the 3-4AM time frame when temperatures went from 70 at 3 AM to 52 by 5 AM and the record book will show the midnight temperature tonight as the low for the day.  Oh well, that at least provides a little insight into how our temperature records are maintained.

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With the colder air arriving in force today, tonight will easily be the coldest so far this season and freezing temperatures are expected area-wide to start the day on Saturday.  That will include the urban environment where temperatures will likely be near 30 whereas the rural locations and the typically cooler valleys will be down into the 20s.  Some locations may even have temperatures near the freezing mark by the midnight hour as we will be cooling quickly due to the clear skies, cool & dry air in place, and diminishing northerly winds.

Saturday will have abundant sunshine and after the freezing start temperatures should recover into the lower 50s along with light northerly winds. 

Saturday night will also be cold with another freeze expected despite the fact that our winds will be returning to a light southerly direction by early that morning.  Those southerly winds will help to initiate a warming trend with temperatures back above normal for Sunday afternoon under sunny skies.

Gusty southerly winds for Monday & Tuesday will bring even warmer air back over us although nothing like what we just experienced the last few days.  Also, a weak system will be moving overhead on Tuesday bringing more cloud cover and chances of showers and perhaps even some thunder, particularly for the more eastern counties.  We certainly need the rainfall, but this system does not have much to offer in that regard as you can see on the 7 day QPF map.  Although this system is not all that strong, it will have a weak surface front that will push through the state Tuesday night followed by northerly winds and somewhat cooler conditions for Wednesday.

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As you can see on our forecast page, that will set the stage for a very pleasant Thanksgiving Day the way things are looking now.  After a chilly start with morning lows in the 30s, light southerly winds during the day and lots of sunshine should push afternoon temperatures back above normal once again with highs likely reaching the lower 60s.  The normal max/min for Thanksgiving this year is 57/36 to provide some perspective.  Southerly winds will warm things up a bit more for Black Friday and our above normal temperatures look to be the general rule through that coming weekend.     

After that, the 8-14 day outlook continues to suggest temperatures running warmer than normal through the rest of the month and into early December.  At least there is now some hope for scattered showers during that 8-14 day time period.

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So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot