Cooler temperatures have arrived and will prevail through Monday.

THE FORECAST:

Today through Tomorrow: Beyond straggling morning clouds, Thursday will feature afternoon sunshine and high temperatures near 60 degrees and northwest winds of 5-10mph. Those winds will continue to spill cooler air into the region beneath a clear sky overnight. Lows will return to the upper 30s for the first time since January 9. 

Up Next: Outdoor plans are in fine shape Friday through Sunday. While you may need a few more layers than last weekend, dry weather is on tap and by Late January standards it can’t get much better. High temperatures will be in the upper 50s with morning lows in the upper 30s, but freezing temperatures are not expected. Some high, thin clouds may blur the sun at times but other than that, lots of sun is ahead. The next warm-up will come by the middle of next week with no rain in the picture until next weekend.     

THE SCIENCE: A fast moving zonal flow will prevail across the Southern Tier of the country through Friday. At the surface, a strong high pressure in the Mountain West will keep much of the Contiguous 48 quiet and in northerly flow. Locally, that will translate to sunny skies and cooler than average temperatures. By the weekend, while the high stays in place, an upper level trough dipping southeastward from the Great Lakes Region. The strong positive vorticity advection associated with this feature and the thermal gradient may be enough to produce some cirrostratus clouds on Saturday and Sunday but moisture is very limited so low-level or thick clouds are not expected nor are any showers. Low temperatures will dip into the 30s but GEFS shows zero chance of below freezing temperatures on Sunday or Monday Morning. As the trough begins to exit east early next week and high pressure shifts from west to east across the country, eventual return flow will allow temperatures to begin moderating Tuesday and Wednesday. Rain is not anticipated until next weekend.

--Josh