March Ends on a Cool Note.

Temperatures so far this month are running more than 4 degrees above normal. That has obviously changed today and the month will close out on a cool note as below normal temperatures will persist until the latter part of the coming week. Along with the cooler temperatures comes more cloud cover, higher humidity levels, and periodic chances of rain. These factors combine to reduce the fire danger potential , but as you can see on the map at the right, there are still many counties in our state that have burn bans in effect.

Cloudy skies and a NE wind will keep us generally in the 40s to near 50 during the day Sunday and some areas may even start the day at the freezing mark. That is the reason for a freeze warning/watch for some locations early Sunday morning although the clouds will likely keep all but the coldest valleys above freezing. Keep in mind that normal daytime high temperatures at this time of year are in the mid 60s and when compared to how warm we were last week, this really is quite a change for us.

A fast upper level flow pattern will not only keep us from clearing out, but will bring occasional chances of rain. Have had to introduce a slight chance for the Sunday afternoon/evening time frame as a weak system scoots on by just north of us. A stronger one will be moving across the state Monday night and Tuesday which will be our next best chance of rain. Yet another one looks to be headed this way along about the Wed night/Thu time frame, but the guidance becomes widely divergent by then so will keep relatively low rain chances until we see better continuity and consistency for that system.

The effect of all this is to keep us mostly cloudy and quite cool to end the month of March, but at least we do have a shot at some badly needed rainfall. By later in the week and going into the coming weekend, there is reasonable agreement on a significant warming trend that will be underway by then.

So, stay warm, stay tuned, and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot