1/26 – The Chief’s “Cold Start” Thursday Morning Forecast

A disturbance over the Great Lakes has multiple bit of energy rotating through it. Flow is currently zonal across the southern states, with one disturbance exiting through the Carolinas and another near the Four Corners area. At the surface, high pressure was over the southern Rockies. Early this morning, there was a shallow layer of moisture trapped under a frontal inversion that was producing clouds across much of the area, which has held temperatures from diving well into the 30s.

The shallow layer of moisture producing this morning’s clouds should mix out by mid-morning with subsidence behind the departing disturbance, with mostly clear skies through Friday. The surface high pressure over the southern Rockies will shift eastward to the Florida Panhandle by Friday evening.

Onshore flow will return beginning Friday night, but will be most noticeable Saturday night into Sunday. A disturbance moving through the southern stream from Baja California will cross the local area on Sunday, bringing widespread rainfall to the area, mainly during the daylight hours. Currently, widespread rain amounts of 1-2 inches look reasonable, with locally higher amounts, especially across northwest portions of the area. Current forecast soundings would indicate that any thunderstorms Sunday would not be likely to be surface based, lowering any severe weather threat.