I'm pretty sure my car hates me. She's (it's a VW... I think that makes it female due to the "High School girl Jetta craze" of the early 2000s) not yet a year old yet but even new cars hate being started at 3:30 AM when it's 2 F.
As I was driving (in that weird "I just got electrocuted" stance you assume when it's cold but you need your hands to operate heavy machinery), I started to think about how many times this winter it's been legitimately frigid when I've left for work. The answer? Not many...maybe 3.
In a winter with lackluster snowfall, the real statistical anomaly has been forgotten. November, December, January and now February (to date) have all been well above average temperature wise.
With that background in mind, today will feel downright frigid.
Look for temperatures to struggle into the teens across most of the state while just reaching the low 20s over southern areas. Add to that a brisk northwest wind (10 to 20 MPH) and the wind chill will hover in the single digits through the day. The mountains actually have a Wind Chill Advisory set to kick in this evening, but even during the day it will be brutal. The good news: high pressure will provide mostly sunny skies from start to finish in all but the higher terrain.
Tonight will feature mostly clear skies and even colder readings. As winds settle a bit, temperatures will drop well below zero across the majority of the state. The mountains will be between -10 and -20 while the coastline MAY just hang onto positive numbers like 2 or 3 F. Either way, it will be very cold.
Monday will remain on the cool side with highs in the 20s but the winds will be in the 5-15 MPH range...which will take some of the edge off. Skies will be mostly sunny again as well, as high pressure remains in place.
We begin to warm up on Tuesday but some clouds will be introduced as well. A weak warm front is being indicated on the computer models, that should push temperatures in the mid and upper 30s. I'm still torn on the exact weather for the day but I'm thinking partly sunny with some mountain snow flurries. That is usually a good bet with a weak frontal boundary like this.
The front passes to our north on Wednesday, allowing temperatures to reach the mid 40s in spots. Clouds will likely be abundant with the boundary lingering just over the border, but, if for some reason, it clears out...look out- it will be very mild.
The next shot at a larger storm comes on Friday. The computer models keep tossing around different scenarios for this one...some of them are rain, others are heavy snow. But one thing I will say is that they(the models) have been advertising this storm consistently for the past few days. So I think ultimately we will deal with some sort of storm on Friday, we just need a day or two to decide what kind.
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