Forecast: New year begins warm, but not for long

Today's Daily Digit

 

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

 

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Afternoon clouds & chance of passing shower late hamper us a bit. Still, near 60 on Jan. 1? Yes please!
 
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Today: Partly sunny, p.m. shower? Upper 50s to near 60. | Tonight: Cool and breezy. 30s. | Tomorrow: Partly sunny, cold & windy. Upper 30s to near 40. | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

Late October anyone? It sure feels like it out there! Get out there and enjoy the warmth today because, rest assured, the wheels of winter are in motion. Once a cold front pushes through later today, we’re in the thick of it. Cold, dry and windy weather is on its way for the first week in January, reminding us what winter’s all about. It’s about time, right?

Snow Potential Index: 1 (→) - No more than a flurry through coming week. Maybe more wintry pattern late next weekend.

 

The SPI is a daily assessment of the potential for accumulating snow for the next week on a 0-10 scale. Get the 'SPI' on Twitter

 

New Year’s Day (Sunday): Much like yesterday, we’ll see the sun early, but clouds roll in through the afternoon with an approaching cold front. Also like yesterday, winds (from the south) begin to get a bit breezy during the afternoon. Upper 50s to near 60 should do it for highs - some 15 degrees above normal. There is a 30% chance of a some light showers as the front passes during the mid-afternoon into evening. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Any light showers (30% chance) quickly move through during the early-to-mid evening, leaving behind partially clearing skies later in the evening or overnight as the front moves away. Behind the front, the coldest air so far this season begins to blow in on winds from the west-northwest. But with the breeziness, temps don’t drop off too much yet, with lows ranging through the 30s. Confidence: High

Keep reading to find out when winter finally shows...

Tomorrow (Monday): SNOW! Only, not for us. Just on the other side of the mountains, lake effect and upslope snows pile up the powder (finally good news for ski resorts!). We may see a few flurries make it over the ridge, but the real story is cold and wind. Even under partly sunny skies, highs struggle to get much past 40 with 15-25 mph winds (gusts near 30-35 mph) making it feel more like the 20s all day long. You’ll also notice how much drier the air is. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow night: The chill continues to build into the overnight. We’re still windy, so we won’t get as cold as we could be, but our lows still drop into the low-to-mid 20 with wind chills in the teens. Skies continue partly cloudy. Confidence: Medium-High

Tuesday and Wednesday feature the core of this cold snap. Highs only top out from near 30 to the low 30s - we could have our first sub-freezing high of the season - and there’s still a chance for a spillover flurry, but for the most part skies are partly to mostly sunny. As low pressure out in the Atlantic strengthens, our winds remain strong and gusty from the northwest on Tuesday keeping wind chills mainly in the teens. Winds diminish some by Wednesday but the air is still frigid and very dry. Tuesday night lows sink to the mid-teens (suburbs) to near 20 (downtown). Confidence: Medium-High