Today: Monday is going to be another above average winter day across the Milwaukee area. Skies remain overcast for the majority of the day thanks in part to a short wave trough that will move from west to east throughout the day Monday across Wisconsin. With overcast skies we’ll also have gusty southwest winds in the morning that will turn more westerly by the afternoon and into the evening. Sustained speeds should range between 10-15 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph. The aforementioned winds and sky conditions will really increase temperatures during the day with highs settling in the upper 30’s by the afternoon.
Overnight: Heading into the evening and into the overnight hours winds will hold steady out of the west and low temperatures only cooling into the low 30’s with overcast skies.
Tomorrow: Tuesday will be the warmest day of this coming week as temperatures sky rocket into the mid 40’s for a daytime high as winds will continue to be gusty with sustained speeds still around 10-15 mph from the west. Also another short wave trough will move across Wisconsin Tuesday morning which will create a chance of some light rain showers across the Milwaukee area (30% chance). Models are inconsistent with this system, but latest guidance suggests that just a few hundredths of an inch of accumulation is expected. All rain showers will be over by the noon hour and overcast skies will dominate for the rest of the day which is ahead of the next weather maker. A low pressure system up in Ontario with a strong cold front attached to it will move southeast toward Wisconsin Tuesday night. The heart of the low pressure system will pass through Michigan, however, a strong cold front attached to this low will swing through Wisconsin overnight Tuesday. This front will cause winds across the area to switch to the north and wind speeds will remain elevated with sustained speeds between 15-20 mph. Temperatures won’t cool drastically Tuesday with lows only reaching the low 30’s but, behind this front we’ll see high and low temperatures get back to average for Wisconsin in January. Finally, overcast conditions will persist overnight because of the low pressure system just east of Milwaukee.
Extended: The later half of this week will be rather unsettled with multiple weather makers moving through Wisconsin and colder temperatures ushering back into the area. Wednesday morning a strong aforementioned cold cold front will slice through Wisconsin from the northwest which will usher in January like temperatures back to the Milwaukee area. High and low temperatures through Friday look to stay around the low 30’s and high 20’s for a highs and overnight lows slipping back into the low 20’s and high teens. Furthermore, on Wednesday Milwaukee will be on the back side of a low pressure system that is stationed in Michigan that moved in Tuesday night. Snow showers will be possible close to lake Michigan over the course of the day Wednesday across the Milwaukee area. This system will be more of a nuisance than anything because little to no accumulation is expected, but north winds will be gusting around 15- 20 mph which will blow this fine snow around a bit and keep our skies mostly cloudy. By the evening and into the overnight north winds will calm down into Thursday morning with speeds around 10 mph sustained and skies beginning to clear. Thursday will be the best day of this week as a weak high pressure system from the north will try to take hold of Wisconsin weather. This system will create mostly sunny skies for the morning and early afternoon on Thursday before clouding up ahead of another weather maker for Friday by the evening and overnight. A big thing to note is that by Thursday afternoon winds will decrease to under 5 mph sustained, but start to turn to the south again by the overnight hours. Finally, Friday will be another overcast and active day as a strong low pressure system from the west pushes high pressure off to the east. This low pressure will have a hard time making its way east because it will be battling the high pressure for control over Wisconsin’s weather. Furthermore, models are inconclusive at this time, but it does look like the Milwaukee area cloud sees some light accumulation out of this system, but it is too early to tell how much. Right now I am keeping a 50% chance of snow for the area, but as Friday gets closer we should be able to see more in depth if this system will have any great effect on Milwaukee. Stay tuned for further updates.
