Thursday, February 10, 2011

Mild air moves in... finally!

Todd's Conservation Minnesota Outlook for the Twin Cities and all of Minnesota:


FRIDAY: Light snow and a light dusting possible. Warmer with peeks of afternoon sun. High: 30

FRIDAY NIGHT: A light wintry mix possible north. Not as cold. Low: 17.

SATURDAY: Partly sunny, light wintry mix possible north. A chance to thaw out for a change. High: 34

SUNDAY: Partly sunny and mild with a light mix, mainly north. Low: 26. High: 36

MONDAY: Partly cloudy and still mild. Low: 24. High: 35

TUESDAY: Partly sunny, a little drizzly. Low: 22. High: 36
WEDNESDAY: Cloud break a bit, temps nearing 40F in many spots?! Low: 28. High: 38

THURSDAY: Cloudier with a light rain/snow mix possible. Low: 28. High: Mid 30s

Maybe the picture above is a little too early to think about, yea? What do you think? I know we are several weeks away from seeing signs like this, but with the winter being as long as it has been, it's never too early to start thinking about some springy weather. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a little putzin' in the garden.
 
Mild Air Moves In... Finally!
Happy Friday! We made it! Not only did we make it to the end of the week, but we made it through the worst of the extreme cold this week and I'm getting close to saying that the worst of the winter cold is, officially, behind us. Looking ahead, there may be a quick shot of 'chilly' air at the end of next week, but not significant. Of course, longer range temperature trends can be a little tricky to forecast, so let's not worry about it too much for now... In the meantime, let's focus on the warming trend, which 'most' people will surely welcome.

Temps Near 50F a Few Thousand Feet Off The Ground Next Week Over the Twin Cities
Temperatures a few thousand feet off the ground, right over the central Minnesota will be near 50F, that sure beats the extreme cold we've been dealing with lately. The image below show the atmospheric profile midweek next week. The red line shows the temperature profile. The surface temperature is a few degrees above 32F and the 850mb temp (few thousand feet off the ground) is around 50F. Because this inversion is in place, it'll be darn hard to mix out the lower level moisture, note the whitish/gray coloring near the bottom of the graphic below. That is the model interpretation of low clouds, fog and haze.


 Strong upper level winds, whipping overhead around the cruising altitude of a jetliner, will bubble northward and shove the extreme cold back into Canada today. Unfortunately, warmer weather has a price at this time of the year and it will come with an increase in clouds and a slight chance of precipitation. Don't expect to see completely sunny skies now that we've made a move into the warmer weather regime. A sharp temperature "Inversion" where temps are warmer above the ground that they are at the surface, traps moisture/pollutants near the ground. Even though temperatures will be warmer than they have been, we are likely to see more clouds, fog, haze and maybe a little drizzle.

Weak disturbances or bundles of energy will scoot along the strong upper level wind pattern sitting overhead and bring us a little light snow today, we'll only get a quick dusting, nothing rough, but temperatures may be warm enough for a little light rain or drizzle next week. Have a good Friday - Todd Nelson


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