Warmer temperatures ahead, remaining generally quiet

Happy Saturday everyone!!!

It has not been half bad today out there! Temperatures are much warmer than the last few days, in the mid to upper 20F’s, and clouds have given way to sunshine. Winds are quite gusty of out of the northwest though, up to 30 mph at times as well. Hold on to your hats!

These gusty northwest winds diminish some heading into the overnight hours tonight, but they do unfortunately indicate another cold night ahead. Temperatures drop into the single digits for most locations by early Sunday morning, with wind chills as low as -5F at times.

Sunday will be a beautiful January day! While temperatures will be cold to start, highs will be in the upper 20F’s to lower 30F’s across the area. Quite a bit above average for this time of year. It will remain a bit breezy, with southwest winds gusting up to 25 mph at times. Otherwise, plenty of sunshine is on tap across all of southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa!

We turn a corner heading into early next week. Temperatures warm significantly from Sunday to Monday, and continue to warm into Tuesday. High temperatures across our area will be in the upper 30F’s to lower 40F’s Monday, and lower 40F’s to mid 40F’s Tuesday! Nearly 20F above the long term average high for this time of year!

Clouds increase slightly heading into Monday, with more cloud cover possible on Tuesday, especially during the morning. Clouds increase again Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning as a weak wave of upper level energy passes over the area. A spotty flurry or two will be possible early Wednesday morning as a result, but most locations will remain dry.

It will be a bit cooler Wednesday, with highs in the lower 30F’s. Plenty of sunshine is in store for the second half of the week, with temperatures warming back into the lower 40F’s again by Thursday, lasting through Friday.

Next weekend is beginning to look more interesting from a precipitation perspective. An upper level low pressure system is expected to develop across California early next week and slowly drift east across the desert southwest through. By next weekend, the low will begin tracking more northeastward, bringing warmer temperatures and higher moisture content with it.

With high uncertainty on track and timing of this feature, it’s only something worth keeping a half interested eye on for now. We’ll know plenty more over the next several days so stay tuned as always!

Otherwise, things look quiet, warmer and more pleasant the next several days! A nice change from what last week brought to the area!