Today: Wednesday will be an average February day across the Milwaukee area, as a strong high-pressure dome approaches Wisconsin from the northwest. In the morning, temperatures will be able to rise through the 20s before topping out within the low 30s in the afternoon with a plentiful amount of sunshine. Winds will be out of the northwest all day with sustained speeds around 10-15 mph, and possible gusts around 20 mph.
Overnight: Winds will eventually decrease in the evening into the overnight hours with speeds eventually resting around 5 mph and turning to more of a northerly direction for a short while. Finally, temperatures overnight will settle into the low 20s as clouds begin to fill back in, leading to an overcast Thursday morning.
Tomorrow: The strong high-pressure system, which started its approach on Wednesday from the northwest, will move directly over Wisconsin Thursday morning. With this system controlling our weather pattern, winds will change to a spring-like pattern. Thursday morning, we will see northwestern winds averaging 5 mph, but as this high-pressure system begins to move southeast in the afternoon, Milwaukee’s winds will turn around to come from the east-southeast. If winds are present, they will still be around 5 mph. With south-southeast winds, the high temperature Thursday will receive a slight boost, rising into the low 30s with partly cloudy skies that will break for some peak-a-boo sun in the late afternoon. By the nightfall, the high-pressure system will have moved off to our southeast, causing winds to make one final turn to the southwest. This will increase speeds a bit to 5-10 mph sustained. Finally, skies will remain partly cloudy but begin to clear slowly overnight. Despite clear skies for most of the night, low temperatures will only be able to make it down into the mid 20s because of the constant southwest winds.
Extended: It is going to be a sunny and warmer than average across the Milwaukee area this weekend. Friday we’ll start to see the Thursday’s high pressure move well off to the southeast, leaving a real warmup over Milwaukee. High temperatures could reach into the low 40s by the afternoon; this is a good 10 degrees above average for this time of year. Winds will still generally be around 10 mph from the southwest for the majority of the day with mostly sunny skies. By the evening and into the overnight hours, winds will change to a more west-southwest direction and slow to around 5 mph sustained. Just like Thursday, overnight temperatures won’t decrease all that much Friday night, settling in the upper 20s with skies remaining clear. Saturday will be almost a repeat of Friday as a new high pressure system from the west will move in our direction. Saturday will be more of an overcast day which will allow temperatures to rise again, nearing 40 degrees thanks to a calm south-southeast wind around 5 mph sustained. By the evening and into the overnight hours, winds will become barely noticeable as temperatures settle around 30 with skies beginning to clear. Sunday will start just as Saturday ended with mostly clear and sunny skies which will allow temperatures to top out in the low 40s by the afternoon. Winds will be from the west in the morning and afternoon between 5-10 mph sustained. By the evening and into the overnight, winds will be on a rollercoaster turning all the way to the northwest by Monday morning, and despite the wind, temperatures will only make down to a low around 30. Finally, I would like to add that the beginning of next week looks rather unsettled with a multitude of weather systems that will affect the area, so stay tuned.
