Cold Is Coming, But How Much?

Really don't see any major shifts in thinking from yesterday.  Yes, the Arctic cold air is coming for this weekend and into next week.  But how cold will we get?  Plus, will we have any moisture around that could turn into snow?   Let's look at the upper air flow.

The top graphic is the upper flow from this morning that basically has a west to east flow over us.  The middle view is valid for Sunday morning when there is a dip in the "Polar Vortex" over the Great Lakes. However, notice it does not extend down to the Gulf Coast.  We remain with a mainly west to east upper flow that should keep the core of the brutal cold/freezing temps north of us.    The bottom graphic is for 2 weeks from now and, if that occurs, the dip in the flow over the East will bring the chill down to us.  What is encouraging is the bitter cold up in Canada and Alaska has moderated slightly.

It's still very cold, but it's not record breaking cold air.  In the short term, we'll see a warm Wednesday & Thursday before it's back to the heavy weather gear for Friday into next week.

Lots of clouds cover the nation, but we have no major storms going at the current time.   There is a sharp divide between the cold and warm air.  Note how Oklahoma is in the 20s, Dallas is 36 while Houston is 70+.

In addition, dense fog lingered over parts of SE LA.  The middle picture is from the noon hour when fog still covered much of the South Shore.  The bottom view is from 4 PM with most of the fog gone, except east of the river in St. Bernard & Plaquemine  Parishes.  We expect more fog to sock us in later tonight.

Finally, it seems every time we see alarming headlines regarding Global Warming, we are in the middle of a cold wave or snow storm.   The USA TODAY's article had a sentence that really made me chuckle.  "Climate change isn't something far away and in the future."   Huh?  Where has this guy been? Since the creation of our Planet, the climate has ALWAYS been changing.  Has he not studied any geology?  What I find sad is the group of scientists who promote removing any CO2 from fossil fuels will stop our current warming cycle.  Shift away from fossil fuels is fine, IF your have another inexpensive and reliable source of energy, like nuclear.  The current green solution (wind & solar) cannot meet the demands of our nation nor the World.  I trust there will be another clean energy source discovered/created in the next 10-20 years.  Stay tuned & enjoy the current warmth.