Tracking the return of warm air
TODAY: Thursday is starting cold, much like yesterday. As I write this just before 4 a.m., temperatures sit in the low 20s for most, with temperatures dropping into the teens for some. With that said, we should end warmer this afternoon, as winds are already turning out of the south. We'll transition from mostly calm conditions this morning, to a south breeze sustained around 10-15 mph. This yields a big warm up from yesterday, with highs expected in the upper 40s. Some may even reach 50 this afternoon, with the south wind and abundant sunshine.
TONIGHT: Expect a warmer night leading into your Friday. Our wind relaxes, but keeps its southerly nature. This keeps us in the upper 30s early Friday. Additionally, clouds will be on the increase overnight, acting as somewhat of a blanket over mid-MO.
EXTENDED: Friday is looking warm, with highs reaching low 60s, thanks to a south wind sustained near 20 mph, and gusting as high as 30-35 mph. Think of Friday, essentially as a repeat of Tuesday, just a few degrees cooler. Another cold snap arrives along a cold front Tuesday night. This will bring a chance for a passing shower or two, but overall rain amounts will be low to nil. Again the biggest impact from this front will be the arctic high that gets ushered in behind it. This will drop lows into the 20s again Saturday morning, and keep highs bound to 40 at best, despite mostly sunny skies. As the active pattern continues, we'll undergo another warm up on the west side of the high as winds turn back out of the south heading into Sunday. This climbs temperatures into the 40s by the afternoon. This warmup however, will come with a chance for showers, but as of now that chance looks limited to I-44, and areas southward, so most are looking at a dry day Sunday. Chances for precipitation climb slightly into Monday, with overall moisture levels reaching further north. Timing and placement at this point is still a bit of a question mark, but chances for much needed rain look a bit better on Monday. Sometime Monday into Tuesday, it looks like this will get cleared by a cold front passing through, which may bring its own round of rainfall as it leaves. At this point there is little chance for any of this rain to turn into anything wintry, but we'll have to watch for the potential of cold air to complicate things as it arrives, and as it leaves. Either way, it would likely be nothing of much consequence.
