[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfxS2tBVYNs?hl=en&fs=1&w=425&h=349]

DRY AND WARMING: The weather will remain dry for at least 5-6 days with gradual warming taking place as we go along. Temperatures will be the coolest this weekend with highs in the 60s to low 70s west with lows in the mid 30s to low 40s Sunday Morning (after a frosty morning this morning). Temperatures will be above seasonal averages as we head into the middle to end of the week with highs going through the 70s to possibly some lower 80s especially in the central and western counties. These temperatures may be a bit conservative as we could see some higher readings depending on the amount of sunshine and winds from the south and southwest.

STORM SYSTEM: A storm system will be moving into the state Friday afternoon into the evening and overnight hours. This will bring some showers and thunderstorms to the state. Some of these storms could be severe but it’s WAY too early to determine that at this time, but it is possible in the region. We’ll have a better outlook on this as we head into the week.

COLD SNAP?: This model run wants to bring back the chance of some bitterly cold weather to the state and the Upper Midwest around the middle of the month. The 540mb line (a good indication of the freeze line) will be south of the state with 850mb temps (about 5k feet off the ground) hovering at or just below 0°C (32°F), we could see temperatures that may not get out of the 40s for highs with a chance of some cold rain or a mix. We’ll see if this continues on the next few runs.