Thursday, January 26, 2023

Cold (Not Frigid) Air Sinks Down Into The Gulf...

If you are dressed for it, today was a beautiful day with clear skies and low humidity.  The cold front that blew through here on Tuesday has plunged all the way down to the Yucatan.  The cold air clouds made for an impressive satellite view as return flow is setting up over the western Gulf.




With clear skies and light winds, widespread frost is possible Friday morning on both sides of Lake P. with the North Shore near freezing.  I'm keeping my plants in my He-Shed another night.




The difference in this cold air mass compared to our December freeze is the source region (Canada) is much milder.  In fact, western Canada is above freezing compared to the 30-40 below back in December.  The super cold is confined to eastern Canada and it would take a "Polar Vortex" sinking over the Great Lakes for that cold to come south.





I don't see that happening during the next 10-14 days.  There is a "clipper" diving out of Canada that will bringing snow and more cold air to the Great Lakes, but it will not affect us.  Our next rain threat comes in the southern Jet Stream from the Pacific.






Tomorrow might be slightly warmer (58-62) but still below our long term average (63)  The different feel will return on Saturday into Sunday with Sunday being rather soggy.  I don't see a severe threat like last Tuesday, but we could see 1-2' of rain.




Because of the upper zonal (west to east) flow over us, a frontal boundary may stall along the northern Gulf keeping the weather unsettled.  Finally...





You don't have to drive too far to the north to see snow on the ground.   Satellite views revealed a snow stripe across Oklahoma into Arkansas.  I know, for you snow geeks that's like close but no cigar!  Don't give up hope.  Winter is not over yet.  Stay tuned!

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