Kicking Off 2012 With An Eye Towards The Cold
What a way to kick off 2012! Early morning fog has lifted. Bright sunshine in place for most of the day. Light SW winds will bring in unseasonal warmth into the 40's to near 50 this afternoon. Some cloudiness may try to sneak back in later this afternoon ahead of an approaching cold front which is currently back through the Great Lakes. This front will push through tonight with a few showers between 8 PM and 1 AM. Lows will hold 40's, but fall back into the 30's at dawn as skies clear behind the front.
Monday will be a bright sunny day, but gusty WNW winds will shift in behind the front and colder air from Canada will be on the move. Winds will be gusting to 25-35 mph Monday. Temps will be able to recover to 40-45 briefly, before falling back into the 30's during the afternoon. A wind with a bite which will only begin to sharpen as the air gets colder over us.
The Arctic front pushes through Monday night and early Tuesday with a period of clouds. Lows drop into the teens and Lwr 20's. Winds remain active right through Tuesday with gusts to 30. An upper level trough will dig into the eastern half of the nation with Arctic air moving from Alaska right into New England all the way down to Florida. The coldest air of the season supplied by NW winds around building high pressure to our west. The cyclonic cool air aloft may form a few cumulus clouds from time to time. Highs on Tuesday will mainly be in the Lwr 20's. Struggling to reach 25. Gusty NW winds will make wind chills feel in the single digits and teens. Ocean effect clouds may form at the immediate coast along with maybe a few snow showers for the outer Cape. By night, as lows drop to the single digits, windchills will be below zero Tuesday night.
The cold dome of air remains over us on Wednesday with highs still in the Lwr 20's but winds will become lighter...so not quite as harsh in the sunshine. A reinforcing shot of colder air tries to work back in later Thursday and Friday, before finally lifting out for the weekend with warming temps back into the 30's and 40's. This cold shot of air will likely be some of the coldest air we see this month. A very quiet weather pattern to start off 2012, but a thermal shock awaits in the coming days...with just a brief taste of the Arctic. Happy New Year everyone!
