Dry and sunny for start of February

For the past week or so, conditions have felt like anything but typical Mid-Missouri weather. We have had days of stubborn fog, almost 30 degree above average temperature days, and several days of persistent clouds denying us any sunshine. Although I am certain there are some of you that find great joy in cloudy weather, we will finally be taking a break from these gloomy conditions and making way for some much needed sunshine.

In the upper regions of our atmosphere, winds will be transitioning in ways that will not only bring us sunshine, but also a few days of no rain or snow chances and cooler temperatures by the end of the week. These upper level winds will be moving is such a way where they line up almost horizontally across the United States. What this alignment of the winds does is bring in drier and at times cooler air.

The winds position themselves this way several times throughout the year, including the summer. In the summer, these winds bring in drier air, but the winds continue to flow overhead keeping the hot and humid Missouri air from sitting and getting potentially hotter and stagnant. Notice that temperatures do cool down ever so slightly throughout this week.

This zonal flow will be partially disrupted Friday as an upper level disturbance digs its way into the Mid-Missouri area, potentially ending our no-precipitation streak. This disturbance has the potential to bring a rain/snow event by the weekend.