Temps Trend Warmer, Wind and Rain Move in Saturday

Call it false winter, or even late autumn. But don’t call our recent foray into the cold season REAL winter. That hasn’t arrived yet.

And we aren’t alone across the Lower 48. Temperatures have been as much as 20-30 degrees above normal in parts of the Midwest recently.

Either way you slice it, the fix is in. Warmer air is streaming out of the Plains in our direction. It may take until late tomorrow to get us to the 60s again, but it promises to thaw the ground and get the winds cranking again.

In the meantime, the clouds and flakes this morning are associated with the passing warm front. While clouds will have the upper hand most of the day, there may be a few afternoon sunny breaks from time to time as well.

The real action will wait until tomorrow night. A few early showers are possible, but much of the afternoon will be dry with an increasing wind. The gusts could top 40-50 mph with the approach of the cold front by 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Remarkably, the temperatures will continue to rise into the evening. I’m expecting that high temp to be reached between 9 p.m. and midnight Saturday night!

Just like the last front, the warm air will squeeze its way up into the Commonwealth right before the front crosses. It’s just like clockwork sometimes (and it helps that we’ve observed this phenomenon dozens of times).

Post-frontal passage, the cold air will flood back in – although it’s hardly cold. Highs still manage the upper 40s on Sunday with a good supply of wind and sun.

Monday’s back up, Tuesday’s back down, then the real warmth surges again late week. Thursday and/or Friday are vying for the 70 degree mark.

It’s again a case for pattern recognition. We’ve seen these outlandish warmups on this kind of setup, so prepare for the unthinkable…a little over a week from Christmas.

Have a great weekend!