Northwest Flow Remains

Good morning.  Expect a few cirrus clouds with sunny conditions and highs nearing the upper 50s today.  The upper air flow from the northwest will allow a short wave to craze the area this morning as it moves across the Mid Missouri valley.  We see a weak front enter the state later today before becoming stationary late this afternoon across extreme northern OK.  South wind returns tomorrow with highs in the lower 60s,but get ready for another big front Saturday and colder air into next week. 

The temperatures will be below normal Saturday through most of next week as yet another surge of arctic type air will move southward.  The upper air flow will bring a weak short wave over the region Monday night into Tuesday and the GFS and EURO are both hinting at some very light snow flurries or flakes during this period.  We have been mentioning this probability for the last few days and I have decided to place a 20 pop on the 7 day planner for Monday night and Tuesday morning.  This system does not appear to be a major weather maker but since the precip type would be light snow, it will get a lot of attention.  Again, at this juncture in the forecast process, it does not appear to be a major weather system. 

The cold air will stick around through Thursday with a brief moderating trend Friday.  The upper air flow will be favorable to bring another system into the region around day 9 to 10 which would be around Saturday or Sunday, Dec 12^th or Dec 13^th. 

I had a few days off and I need to thank Nick Bender for taking the morning show shift this past few days.  Compared to other work places, we have a small number of employees in the weather office.  This means when one of us takes a day off, someone else has to shuffle a schedule and take up the slack.  It works well because we have a super great weather staff. 

I've not been watching the model data too much over the past few days, which is a little different for me.  When I have a few days off, I usually continue to study the model runs and the weather just to make sure I'm ready to go.  But I decided not to pay too much attention during my recent time away and I must admit it was good.  I've always had issues with taking time off from work and leaving work behind.  I don't know exactly where this comes from and why it's something I struggle with, but I think I'm getting better compared to previous years where I would have many days of vacation remaining but would loose them at years end.   

It's also hard to imagine we are now in December.  I remember watching television Halloween evening and seeing my first Christmas ad of the season.  I thought it was way too early to see a commercial about the Holidays while Charlie Brown was still chasing the Great Pumpkin, but I just took a look at the December calendar and realized almost every day is marked with something to do or someone to see through the month.  It will be March before we know it and back to severe weather season.