Severe Cold Comes to an End

A warm morning with temps in the single digits instead of below zero. Highs will be in the 30's today and then the 40's for the extended period into next week. With the cold we have had that is going to feel like Spring.

We are currently 13 degrees below average for the month which is rediculous. The average high for the next week is 42 degrees so we will be around average finally. That will be coupled with plenty of sunshine for the next 10 days as a strong ridge blocks any storms from getting near the West Coast.

The ridge is so large that it will keep snow away from the entire West over the next week so a road trip won't do any good. We are still watching the possibility of some moisture undercutting the ridge the end of next week. The GFS forecast model still shows this but the moisture is limited and the snow levels marginal. The European forecast model shows the ridge retrograding the weekend of the 25th with cold storms starting to drop from the Gulf of Alaska.

Those are two different scenarios but both bring a return of snowfall around the end of next week. I can understand the confusion on the models with the conflicting signals in the teleconnections. We will start to get a clearer picture as we get closer.