Super Weekend with Rain Chances Next Week

Temperatures bottomed out on this Friday, but a gradual warm-up will bring temperatures back above normal by early next week. First the temperatures go up, then the precipitation chances will follow suit. For now, a quiet pattern with northwesterly flow in the jet stream will bring down dry cold fronts without pulling up much Gulf moisture. The cold fronts will do little to cool us down as a ridge of high pressure slides in from the west, allowing warmer air to push its way in.

Breaking down the forecast- the next few days will be cool, but not frigid like today. Winds will generally be light with ample sunshine. That leads us to a B-E-A-Utiful Super Bowl Sunday with highs well into the 50s with mostly sunny skies. It gets even warmer from there as high temperatures around 60° will be common for much of next week. Aside from a stray shower on Monday, we remain dry until Thursday. That's when this relatively tranquil pattern becomes unsettled. A deep trough will remove the ridging in the jet stream here in the central U.S. That removes the calm conditions and opens up the Gulf of Mexico as southerly winds will bring back some much-needed moisture. The system out west appears to be slow enough to give us several days of rain. We'll be on the warmer side of this system into Friday so rain showers, if not thunderstorms will be the mode of precipitation.

From there, cooler (though not Arctic) air will settle in for next weekend. Depending on how the system evolves, there could be the potential for a little wintry weather. That's a ways out, but we are entering our prime snow season. Snow-lovers have been waiting very patiently and they mustn't give up hope! The 8-14 Day Outlook from the Climate Prediction Center is promising (shown above). It's counting on above-normal precipitation as we head deeper into February. If we can get enough cold air to mix in (which the temperature outlook is more inconclusive), then we may finally get a decent shot of frozen precipitation. Still, no major winter storms on the horizon.

Enjoy the warm-up and sunshine. We'll keep you posted on the upcoming unsettled weather! Be sure to follow me on Twitter: @GroganontheGO and "like" me on Facebook!