Rain for Tuesday.

Our next weather maker now looks to be taking a more southerly track. That will have several implications regarding temperature and precipitation patterns over the next few days. In the first place, the more southerly track keeps the deeper moisture further south allowing for fair to partly cloudy skies for the more northern counties tonight and keeping cloudy skies along and south of I-40. This will allow temperatures to drop at or below the freezing mark tonight along and north of Hwy 412 but staying above freezing further south.

For Monday, the N-S moisture gradient will have a similar effect with lots of sunshine along and north of Hwy 412 and mostly cloudy skies south of I-40. Temperatures should still moderate into the lower 50s for most locations along with a light northerly wind.

Tuesday still looks to have the best chance of rain, but there will be a definite N-S rainfall gradient with rain likely along and south of I-40 and decreasing chances to the north. Cloudy to mostly cloudy skies will be the general rule area wide and together with brisk northerly winds should hold temperatures into the 40s during the day. This N-S moisture gradient is very evident in the QPF map on the right.

As the storm system moves on eastward Wednesday, we should see decreasing cloud cover during the day along with increasing northerly winds behind a stronger cold front that will arrive early that afternoon. It looks like there will be enough afternoon sunshine to get us back into the lower 50s Wed before the colder arrives that evening and overnight.

Thursday and Friday still look to be the coldest days of this week with temperatures below normal for a change. Not for long though as mostly sunny skies and a return to southerly winds should result in a nice rebound going into the coming weekend. Another cold front will be arriving early that following week, which will get us back to at or below normal temperatures for a few days. However, there are still no indications of any arctic outbreaks coming our way anytime soon.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot