Changing Pattern Early Next Week Brings a Chill for the Second Week of December

Sunshine was quick to return Tuesday afternoon following a cloudy start. High temperatures warmed into the low to mid 40s area wide. The stretch of 40 degree days will continue into the weekend, with the exception of Friday with highs falling back into the 30s. A split flow in the jet stream pattern this week will keep most of the moisture down to the south, leaving very little for systems moving in from the northwest and moving across the Midwest.

That pattern changes going into the weekend allowing a little more moisture to be pulled northward late Saturday and Sunday. This will lead to light showers beginning late Saturday night, lasting into Sunday. At this point, it doesn't look like it will be a significant amount of rainfall. An even bigger pattern change arrives sometime early next week with a dip in the jet stream over the center of the country. This dip will allow a much cooler air mass to spill south either Monday or Tuesday of next week with high falling into the 20s, nearly ten degree below average. That chill could last through the middle of the month.