Between the weather we experienced this weekend, and continue to walk out to this week, you might have forgotten that we were trapped in the cold 30s just one week ago.  Think hard...remember that? 

Since then, Mother Nature has turned her back on wintertime around these parts and has yet to look back.  Let me tell you, while there may be some looking for a bit of rain in the forecast, not many are mad about this mild air / "t-shirts and shorts" weather that has locked into the Brazos Valley.

Arctic Air Isn't Far Away

While we soak up these "sure, too warm for January..but feeling great" 60s and 70s here at home, old man winter has made it presence known across most of the rest of the United States.  Monday morning brought wind chills 40° to 50° BELOW zero for some residence of the extreme northern United States.  While places of North Dakota traded those for a "warmer" wind chill of just ZERO this morning, other spots around Minnesota, the Great Lakes and the Northeast US still walked outside to a "feels like" temperature between 20° and 40° BELOW zero this Tuesday morning.  

Take a glance at expected highs across the country this afternoon.  Feel bad for the folks in Minneapolis with a high of 1° today? Do so...but know that they are probably looking forward to it as it'll be the first time they could climb above 0° in over 24 hours! 

Makes those 60s look pretty good, huh? 

Warming Up to Spring-Like...For Now

The jet stream has all that cold, bitter air locked up across the northern and Eastern United States.  For us, we are staring a ridge of high pressure in the face for the next couple of days.  That ridge will move overhead for the latter half of Thursday and stick around through Friday.

While that ridge takes over the upper-levels of the atmosphere, we'll also be under the influence, at the surface, that will set up shop over the Southeastern US.  That will direct southerly winds back into Texas for the next few days -- a warmer wind.  Those factors combined, along with a mix of sun and clouds, should help bring afternoon highs into the low 70s on Wednesday and then the mid to possibly upper 70s on Thursday.

Snap Back to Reality

Just about the time you're reaching for the hammock to hang on those shade trees in your backyard -- more seasonable weather will return to the Brazos Valley.  

A weak cold front will move through the backyard during the day on Friday.  That should bring a very slight chance (20%) for a few scattered showers / maybe an isolated rumble of thunder ahead and along the front, followed by cooler and at times gusty winds behind it.  

Highs on Saturday will slowly climb to the upper 50s to very low 60s, but feel more like the 50s at best thanks to a north wind gusting upwards of 20mph.

Enjoy it while it lasts, Friends.  There is a brief warm up back in the forecast by the beginning of next week.  That looks like it might prime us for a better shot at rain by the second half of next week and possibly lead into another cold snap by next weekend...but more on that later...