A cold, brisk Christmas Day. But what's next?
A Cold And Brisk Christmas Day
By every measure of the definition, Saturday was brutally cold. Wind chills were below zero for most of the day, and when they weren't, they topped 0 or 1 degrees Fahrenheit at best. While Christmas Day won't be much warmer, the slight improvement in temperature will go a long way to make us feel just a bit more bearable.
A ton of sunshine is in store for the second half of the weekend, with high pressure continuing to dominate our forecast. As we head into the afternoon and evening, winds will begin to really subside, as the Arctic high center continues to move out of the area. Expect west winds at 10-15 mph, with highs in the mid to upper 20s.
Moderating Temperatures To End 2022
By the time Monday rolls around (just in time for Kwanzaa, by the way), the sun will be joined by highs that, in some cases, will finally top freezing. That's a whopping 32 degrees Fahrenheit or so for a high after we struggled to get out of the teens Saturday. Quite a contrast!
There's an old saying: "You can't fall off the floor," and it definitely applies here; there's nowhere else to go but up, and we'll see a rapid rise in temperature for the week ahead.
Tuesday through Friday are mostly sunny to partly cloudy and milder, especially compared to where we were. Highs by Thursday will top the upper 40s; we'll see widespread 50s by Friday.
A Rainy Start To 2023?
While the temperatures certainly look warmer, the skies will eventually give way to a chance of rain by Saturday, which of course, happens to be New Year's Eve. As our next front approaches from the west, we'll see increasing clouds and precipitation move in. With temperatures in the 50s, we're expecting this to be a mainly rain event, but some mixing with snow may happen way up in the mountains.
For now, stay tuned, as it's still a week or so away. What is certain, however, is that this deep freeze that we're in will be over with in the coming days, with plenty of sun and mild temperatures to thaw us all out.
