Slight Warmup Before 2017 Ends Cold

Slightly warmer today, with another ARCTIC blast on the horizon.

Posted by Landon Hampton on Friday, December 29, 2017


Above Freezing on Friday

I mean, it’ll still be chilly but we will rise above the 32º mark today thanks to a low pressure system to the north of us.

Great Lakes Low, how we salute thee!
(WPC)

Cloud cover overnight kept us a little warmer than yesterday morning by a few degrees, combine this with winds from a “warmer” direction and it should allow us to top out right around 35º for a high today. I said above freezing…I didn’t say by how much.

Thanks to some of the clouds coming off of that system that’s going to slink off to the north, we’ll stay near 25º for a low instead of falling into the teens.

More Clouds Lead to a Similar Saturday

(Giphy/FOX)

Shrug it off now, but Saturday will be the last pleasant day before absolute bitter cold returns to the region to finish off 2017 and kick off 2018.

The cold front associated with the low to our north will work its way through the area during the morning hours tomorrow, with the colder temperatures lagging behind by a few hours.

Forecast surface map for 6am tomorrow morning. (WPC)

Once the front passes, winds will stiffen a bit out of the northwest and begin ushering in the cooler air. Highs, though, should still reach above freezing early in the afternoon before the bottom falls back out of the thermometer tomorrow night.

As the bitter cold comes back. (Giphy/FOX)

Lows should fall back to a very chilly 15º as the skies clear, with wind chills falling into the single digits.

2017 Ends Brutally Cold

Yeah, I hope you didn’t put those long-johns away yet because you’ll need them again come Sunday and into the first week of the new year.

Oh great, here we go again. (Giphy/FOX)

Another Canadian high pressure will begin to move down out of the Land with the Maple Flag and bring some brutally cold temperatures south with it. Even with mostly sunny skies during the day on Sunday, temperatures will still struggle to hit only 25º.

Yeah, this temperature map from the NAM is valid at 3 in the afternoon. (Pivotal Weather)

With breezy conditions daytime wind chills will still be in the lower teens. As the ball begins to drop on 2017, temperatures should start to plummet into the lower teens to ring in the new year for a low with wind chills very close to zero by daybreak on Monday.

2018 Starts Very, Very Cold

A glimpse into the first week of the new year reveals even colder temperatures on the horizon. Temperatures begin to fall into bone-chilling territory for lows at night, with single digit lows possible next week and highs only in the 20s. On the other hand, at least it looks dry.

That just about does it for me! Thanks for checking into wxornotBG this morning, and be sure to follow @wxornotBG on Twitter for real-time updates on our flooding potential throughout the day. Have a terrific Friday and Happy New Year!