Forecast: Big chill gives way to gradual warm-up

Today's Daily Digit

 

A somewhat subjective rating of the
day's weather, on a scale of 0 to 10.

 

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2nd straight day with highs only in the 30s. But a lot less wind than Tues makes the cold more tolerable.
 
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Today: Partly to mostly cloudy, less windy. P.M. flurry? Low-to-mid 30s. | Tonight: Partly to mostly cloudy. Mid-to-upper 20s. | Tomorrow: Partly sunny. Mid-to-upper 40s. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

Yesterday was by far the most wintry day we’ve had around here this winter so far, with gusty winds keeping wind chills in the teens much of the day and snow showers spotted across the area. We’ll keep the cold but lose the wind today. Then we’re in for a gradual warming trend with highs back to near or past 50 by Friday or Saturday - familiar territory for this winter.

Snow Potential Index: 1 (↑) - No snowstorms on the horizon. But after some folks got dusted Tues, I'm hesitant to go zero with Wed p.m. flurries possible.

 

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Today (Wednesday): Temperatures start the morning colder than they’ve been all season, with early-morning lows in the mid-teens to low 20s (suburbs to city). Afternoon highs don’t do much better than yesterday, only reaching the low-to-mid 30s under partly to mostly cloudy skies. Big difference from yesterday is the winds - they’ll be much lighter, around 10 mph. A bit of energy high up in the atmosphere may produce a few afternoon flurries. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: After the chance of an evening flurry, partly to mostly cloudy skies and a warming air mass prevent a repeat of last night’s deep freeze. Lows should still get below freezing, but are around 10 degrees higher than early this morning, mainly in the mid-to-upper 20s. Confidence: High

For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend...

Tomorrow (Thursday): Tomorrow morning won’t be nearly as bone-chilling as this morning was. Also, light breezes are from the west through the day. That’s a warming wind for us, which along with partly sunny skies should help highs back to near or a touch above average, to the mid-to-upper 40s most spots. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow night: Ordinarily mostly clear skies and light winds would signal a pretty cold night in early January. But as the overall air mass continues to warm, so do our overnight lows. Look for them to bottom out in the upper 20s to low 30s. Confidence: Medium-High

Mild temperatures, for January at least, return in full force Friday and Saturday. Beneath partly to mostly sunny skies, highs should top out from near 50 to the mid-50s, with Friday night lows in the mid-to-upper 30s. Confidence: Medium-High

We’ll have to see if low pressure developing to our south/southwest brings a period of rain sometime Saturday night and/or Sunday, or if it misses us to the east. Temperatures should stay safely above freezing through the day Sunday, with Saturday night lows in the mid-30s to low 40s and Sunday highs probably in the mid-40s to low 50s. Confidence: Low