Wednesday's forecast for December 15, 2010

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Today: High of 64 with partly to mostly cloudy conditions; southeast winds 15mph

Tonight: Low of 57 and mostly cloudy; southeast winds b/w 10 to 15mph



~Jackson, MS


Currently
Hi and a good afternoon to you all! It's the middle of the work week and for some folks only two more days until the weekend. Always a great feeling of knowing you only have one or two more days until you get to enjoy yourself from work. Speaking of which, ten more days until Christmas. Exciting times I must say and nothing is as exciting as these temperatures outside for those of you who love cold weather. Now, for you warm folks you're probably wondering when will it warm back up again?? Actually, today is fairly warm with temperatures already near the mid 60 mark. It never fails to amaze mw how temperatures can be so low the next day but so warm the following day. Yesterday's high was 47 and so if the high today reaches 67, that will be a 20 degree increase. How does the temperature just increase like that you may ask and will it be even warmer tomorrow?

What's Happening Atmospherically

The reason for this jump in temperatures can be explained and observed on the 850mb chart. At 850mb, we meteorologists observe warm and cold air advection. What this means to you all and viewers is whether an area will potentially be warmer due to warmer air or vice versa. For today, we have warm air advection coming in from the south along with a warm front. This warm front actually makes for an interesting setup in our weather because it is keeping some moisture and rain from really penetrating into the mid to southern MS region. Last Monday, the NAM/GFS models were both showing rain later this evening but right now models are currently showing little to no rain going into Thursday. I believe this is due to this warm front which is keeping most of the precipitation in TN and northern MS and preventing rain from moving further south. However, we will remain partly to mostly cloudy for the majority of the day and within those clouds we could potentially see a lingering stray shower in the area late this evening.

Now, later tonight temperatures will slightly drop but not much. Being mostly cloudy and having strong warm air advection will help to keep temperatures well above their normal around this time of year.

By early Thursday, surface maps shows the warm front moving northeast and out of MS but behind it a cold front will drag through. How this will impact our weather is that it will build off from this warm air advection and temperatures will be expected to soar to unseasonably-like temperatures. Imagine near 70 degrees in mid December! Also, Thursday provides another chance for rain but I believe Friday will the best and favorable day to receive some.

Today
Look for highs around mid 60s with partly cloudy conditions throughout the early portion of the afternoon. Going forward throughout the day, more clouds will appear but temperatures will drop slowly and ever so slightly. A windy day as well with southeast winds blowing at 15mph. Hang on to those hats!

Tonight
A warm night for us as lows will only drop to the lower 50s. Being mostly cloudy for the entire night along with warm air advection will keep these temperatures from falling any lower. Winds from the south will still maintain its speed at about 10 to 15mph.

Thursday's outlook

Thursday looks to be the warmest day of the week with unseasonably high temps near the 70s. For all who wanted warm temperatures again, you got your wish. Thank you for taking a look at your Face of the Sky forecast and have a great rest of the evening! God Bless!