Midweek update

The weather pattern has definitely settled down from the tumultuous wintry happenings earlier this month. Today - Wednesday - looks to be sunny with temperatures well above the upper 50s average high for this date. Many Mecklenburg county thermometers will reach the 70º mark this afternoon, accompanied by a light southwesterly breeze.

The only fly in the weather ointment this week is a cold front approaching from the west. Clouds will stream in overhead tonight, keeping skies mostly cloudy throughout much of Thursday. Temperatures will begin tomorrow morning in the upper 40s. Despite the clouds local thermometer readings will top out in the low 70s during the afternoon, thanks to southwesterly winds pumping in warm moist air ahead of the boundary.

The front itself will cross the county midafternoon Thursday, swapping winds around out of the west and depositing perhaps a tenth of an inch of liquid into local rain gauges. Just after the boundary's passage westerly winds will become a bit gusty, surging over 25 mph at times. The overall event will be a quick hitter, with clouds likely clearing out just in time to witness the sunset at 6:06 p.m.

Friday then looks to be sunny and breezy, with temperatures climbing from morning lows near 40º to afternoon highs in the upper 50s. Meanwhile, the really cold air intrusions out of Canada will become scarcer and somewhat warmer as the sun angle continues to increase into March. Here's the 6-10 day outlook for temperatures (as compared to the averages):

Note: Friday's blogpost will likely be delayed until the late afternoon. At this point just note that the weekend will be dry, with Saturday being warmer than Sunday.