It's hard to type out a blog titled "Last Rain of 2011" when there hasn't been that much action in the rain department to start off with.  But, we are at least going out on a good note as we've picked up a little over 3 inches of rain this December.  On a normal year we would normally scoff at 3" but as you know, this year was anything but normal and 3" of water falling from the sky is a thing of beauty for this drought stricken Brazos Valley.

Drying out..and is that the...the...sun?!

It has been one cloudy stretch of weeks with most of December being had under an overcast sky.  With rain quickly exiting the Brazos Valley to the east as I sit here and type, we are actually looking for a stretch of days with wall-to-wall sunshine.  The recent weather pattern has supplied weather system after weather system diving down from the north keeping clouds and rain chances in the forecast -- but that is about to change.  We'll undergo a weather pattern called "a Northwest Flow" meaning that the jet stream is running from the northwest to the southeast.  Drier air will spill in from the northwest half of the country providing a few high clouds here and overall a quiet end to 2011.  Overnight temps will slowly move from the 30s to the low 40s by the weekend with daytime highs starting in the low 50s Monday and rebounding to the low 70s by Friday and New Year's Eve. (7 day forecast below)

Ringing in 2012 With a Few Showers

...Looks like it could happen.  Moisture moving in from the south ahead of our New Year's Day cold front will provide for a 20% shot at a few scattered showers.  No need to cancel any plans to celebrate the passing of midnight, just know an umbrella and a light jacket might be needed along with your best the best as the calendar turns to 2012.