Welcome A New Happy Year, January Begins Warm, Alaska Cold Lurks

I hope all of you stayed safe & enjoyed welcoming in 2026.  Most of 2025 was a horrible year for me, but the last 2 1/2 months have been terrific, meeting my new partne,r Valerie Adams, and her many fun friends.  Two such friends are Mindy & Ward, who share what Valerie & I have found, love in late life.  All my friends notice that Bob has the bounce in his step back.  Can you see it?

Ward is a terrific saxophone player who plays with many local groups, including the Wise Guys.

Valerie looked stunning, bringing the smile back to the little fella.  I asked/prayed to our Creator to bring me a special person, and Valerie is so much more.  I told her I need more storage area in Copeland Tower, and she bought me and put together this wonderful piece of furniture

It fits perfectly below my TV in my living room, PLUS she's a great cook!  I am so blessed! Weatherwise, many of you are thinking will we ever get cold again?  the answer is YES!  Just look to Alaska, where the temps remain 40-50 below zero.

As a general rule of thumb, it'll take 10-14 days for that Arctic air to get to us IF we get the eastern upper trough to deepen down to the Gulf coast.  That's not the case right now.

The real cold is coming down over the Great Lakes & Northeast, but the upper flow becomes more zonal (west to east) over us.  That weak upper low over Arkansas will bring us a weak front for Saturday PM into Sunday.

The real Arctic cold is well north of the front, and our cool down will not be drastic.

Clearing skies are not too far away, but until the front arrives on Saturday, we'll stay muggy with some clouds & a slight shower threat.

I love to see us 70+ in January, and the next week should continue the well-above-normal/average trend.

Next week might even flirt with 80, continuing the above-average/normal trend that made last year the 5th warmest on record.

Just remember, last year's snow didn't happen until January 23rd.  I see a real cool down coming after January 15th, so snow geeks, keep the faith!  Stay tuned!