Some Clouds, Comfortable

Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning, so that means six more weeks of winter. Our weather certainly won't feel winter-like today once we get rid of the low clouds that are currently in place. This will occur later this morning and early afternoon as low-level moisture becomes scoured out by a departing shortwave trough. This will leave us in a zonal flow aloft, which should promote temperatures slightly above normal today. A few clouds will likely stick around through this afternoon, but enough peeks of sunshine should boost highs near 58. Skies will be partly cloudy overnight, but it seems as though moisture will increase in the lowest 1,000 feet after midnight. This should allow skies to become increasingly cloudy. Still, lows tomorrow morning will still dip down to 31.

The groundhog doesn't have the most stellar forecast track record, but I think he may be on to something this year. The global pattern definitely supports a return to very cold air over the next couple of weeks as pressures continue to build across the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. A strong stratospheric warming event is beginning near the pole, and this will only enhance the air mass across Siberia and northwestern North America. I don't think the duration of the cold will be as long as what we saw in the first half of January, but I won't be surprised to see some record-breaking temperatures by the time February ends. Adding fuel to the fire is an active subtropical jet stream that should become even more established in the next 10-14 days. These factors argue for a cold and stormy period down the road.