For the first time since late December we will have three straight days where it warms up to at least 50 degrees. To get even crazier the Weather Channel is forecasting a high of 62 degrees under mostly sunny skies. The last time we had heat of this magnitude was Christmas Day, long before the monstrous mounds of snow appeared!
Today's warm weather is ironically due to a cold front that passed through the city early this morning. As sometimes happens, the dry air behind the front has arrived way sooner than the cool air, allowing the sun to work its magic. Cooler air will arrive tonight and, along with clear skies and little wind, that will cause the temperature to plummet to near freezing. We can't really complain about that since our high temperatures were lower than that just a few days ago. More sun is on tap for Thursday but we'll only warm to the upper 40s. Still, upper 40s is slightly above normal for early March. The cool, dry air will stick around through Friday, which will start out below freezing and warm to the mid 40s.
The last weekend of astronomical winter is shaping up to be wet. A surface storm is expected to move up through the Ohio Valley and into the Great Lakes at the same time a little shortwave pulse of energy passes through the jet stream overhead. That combination adds up to a good chance of precipitation, possibly starting as a mix of snow and rain, on Friday night, changing over to rain on Saturday, and lingering showers on Sunday. Highs should be in the mid to upper 40s over the weekend, climbing back to the lower 50s early next week.
