12/25 – Brantly’s “Clouds Return” Christmas Evening Forecast

A ridge of high pressure extending northward from the eastern Gulf of Mexico through the southeastern U.S. this afternoon will slowly shift eastward across the FL peninsula and adjacent western Atlantic through Thursday. Dry weather conditions are expected to persist across our viewing area through Thursday afternoon, as most of the moisture will remain located to the south and west of our region.

Low level cloud cover is expected to increase again late tonight, while abundant high cloud cover also streams overhead. Some patchy fog cannot be ruled out late tonight, mainly over South Mississippi, but the overall fog probabilities are low. Lows tonight are forecast to range in the upper 40s to lower 50s over interior locations to the mid 50s along the coast. Highs on Thursday are forecast to range in the upper 60s to lower 70s.

High pressure that dominated the area over the Christmas holiday will continue to breakdown and shift off the east coast. Winds aloft will become more southwesterly heading into the weekend. This will allow for moisture to begin to move in the region. Starting Friday, increasing cloud coverage and potentially some isolated showers can be expected across the area Friday. This shower activity will likely be focused generally west of I-65. On and off shower activity can be expected going into Saturday as well.

Temperatures will continue to be warmer than normal for this time of the year as southerly wind flow increases, bringing in warmer air. Highs will range in the upper 60s to low 70s near the coast with lows in the mid 50s inland and low 60s at the coast.