Today: Weather trends have been all over the place this month. Tuesday’s weather will keep with that trend, where we’ll see some higher temperatures and the return of snow chances in the late afternoon. In the morning, temperatures will rise through the 20s and low 30s before topping out near 40 by the afternoon. Overcast conditions will persist throughout the day. Along with that, a northwest wind will be sustained around 15-20 mph with gusts around 35 mph. By the late afternoon and into the early evening, a low-pressure system traversing the U.S.-Canada border will swing through Wisconsin from the northwest. This front, called an occluded front, is courtesy of the colder high winds earlier in the day, sweeping through faster than the warm front which brought us the warm temperatures. Along with this, a little snow is possible ahead of this front. Some light to moderate snow could start around 4 p.m. and end around 7 p.m. I would like to stress that models are inconsistent with the intensity of this system. Some models show a short burst of moderate snow, and others show nothing. Right now, I am keeping about a 20% chance of snow for the Milwaukee area.
Tonight: Entering into the overnight hours, all snow will exit, and skies will begin to clear. Temperatures will tumble back near 20 for a low. Wind speeds and gusts will weaken a little but remain on the higher end. Finally, a weak high-pressure system will begin to move out of Canada towards Wisconsin.
Tomorrow: Wednesday will be a transition day for Milwaukee’s weather pattern. A weak high-pressure system will be on its way towards Wisconsin approaching from the northwest. High temperatures on Wednesday will cool back down from Tuesday’s high. High 20s look to be on tap for Wednesday with mostly sunny conditions for the day. Winds will be out of the northwest, 10-15 mph sustained with possibly higher gusts. By the evening and into the overnight hours, clouds will begin to gather as winds will slow down to around 5 mph, while turning to a more northern direction. Furthermore, temperatures will cool into the upper teens for an overnight low.
Extended: A warmup trend will be the pattern ending the week. High temperatures Thursday and Saturday will be in the seasonable mid-30s; however, Friday will see high temperatures get up into the low 50s. Thursday will be very normal weather-wise for a February day across the Milwaukee area with plenty of sunshine and northwest winds under 5 mph. As the aforementioned weak high-pressure hovers above Wisconsin Thursday, this will change our winds in the afternoon to the west and then finally to the southwest by the evening and into the overnight. Winds speeds should still remain calm. This wind shift will make for a really warm Friday. With higher-than-average temperatures, Friday will be the best day to be outside, however it may be blustery with southwest winds 10-15 mph and gusts as high as 25 mph. Going into Friday night, a strong low-pressure system up in Canada with a cold front attached will swing through Wisconsin as clouds filter in. This will turn winds to the northwest with speeds 10-15 mph sustained. No precipitation is anticipated with this front, but winds could be a problem, so check back for further updates. Finally, Saturday will be the return to semi-normalcy with average temperatures and winds which will stay consistent with mostly cloudy skies. I want to mention that winter doesn’t look to be done in Wisconsin yet. Early next week, a larger low-pressure system looks to move through which could cause some winter weather to return into the forecast.
