After a fairly warm day (away from the coast, anyway, where temperatures ran some 10°+ cooler), we’ll turn even warmer on Wednesday as high pressure slips offshore, pumping in warmer air from the south and southwest. Wednesday starts around 50° with perhaps a few patches of fog, and we’ll warm well into the low-to-mid-70s under a mix of sun and clouds. Winds will be a bit breezy out of the southwest, generally around 10-15 MPH during the afternoon as mixing from daytime heating taps into 25-30 MPH winds a few thousand feet off the deck.

A warming trend kicks off Tuesday as high pressure moves overhead and eventually offshore. It’ll be quite a nice day after we start around 40° in the morning; temperatures will head well into the 60s by afternoon with plenty of sunshine to be had and comfortable relative humidity values. Winds won’t be quite as strong as they were on Monday, either, with speeds generally around 5 MPH. Winds will shift around to the southeast as high pressure slips into the Atlantic, a harbinger of warmer air to come.

We had quite the temperature swing on Tuesday, with a low of 33° giving way to a high of 76° in the afternoon. A warm front that swung through around daybreak helped temperatures jump from 37° a little after 6am to 46° about 20 minutes later, according to the National Weather Service. From there, plenty of sunshine propelled us to the warmest day since January 10.

I hope you got to enjoy the brief spring preview, because the weather will turn more unsettled on Wednesday as a cold front approaches from the northwest. Temperatures will still run well above normal, with lows in the low 50s yielding to highs once again approaching 70° in the afternoon. Showers will begin to move into the area as early as daybreak, with off and on showers possible through the evening hours.

One could make the argument that Tuesday’s forecast might be the most pleasant in a few weeks as temperatures head well above normal as we end up on the north side of high pressure centered roughly around Tampa, FL. We’ll start the day around 40°, but west and southwest winds along with mostly sunny skies will help drive temperatures some 30° warmer during the day, with highs reaching the low 70s across much of the area (save for the immediate coast, where marine influences will keep temperatures capped to the upper 50s to around 60°). This should be our first 70° day since January 22, when the high reached 72°.

With a high of 63°, Tuesday ended up being the warmest day since January 23rd, when the high was 68°. We’ll fall back off that peak a little bit for the rest of the work week, but 60s should return for next week. In the meantime, we’ve got another cold front to deal with on Wednesday, which will spread some showers into the area on and off, especially as we get into the afternoon and evening hours. Temperatures start in the low-to-mid-40s, and peak generally in the upper 50s to near 60° as showers overspread the area.

While it won’t be quite as chilly as Tuesday was, the rest of the week will continue to feature below-normal temperatures as Arctic air continues its residence across the area. Wednesday starts in the upper 20s, warming to the low 50s in the afternoon under a mix of sun and clouds. A dry front will sag south across the area Thursday, which will cool things off and cloud up the skies a little bit. Temperatures Thursday once again start in the upper 20s, warming to the upper 40s to about 50° in the afternoon. The cloud cover insulates us a bit overnight Thursday into Friday, with lows only dropping to the low 30s (and staying above freezing toward the coast). Highs Friday warm to the mid-50s as more onshore flow takes over.

Tuesday will get off to a very cold start across the area as Arctic air continues to spill in, sending air temperatures to the low 20s and maybe even some upper teens further inland. Northerly winds around 5-10 MPH will make it feel closer to the low-to-mid-teens in the morning, prompting a Cold Weather Advisory that will run until 9am. Bundle up carefully and with plenty of layers for heading out to work or school as this is bitter cold for this part of the world. With cold air continuing to blow in, highs on Tuesday only peak in the low-to-mid-40s despite plenty of sunshine. This is well below normal for late January — climatological average high temperatures are around 61° at this point in the still-young year. Stay warm!

Temperatures will warm up for the second half of the week ahead of what is shaping up to be a rather messy weekend, with the risk for winter weather increasing especially away from the coast.

Chilly mornings will continue through Wednesday as another reinforcing shot of cool air moves in overnight Monday into Tuesday. We’ll start Tuesday back in the mid-to-upper 20s, but northwesterly winds around 5 MPH or so could make it feel closer to 20°, so be sure to layer appropriately heading out to work or school. Temperatures will only make it to the low 50s as the influx of cool air continues throughout the day. Expect a scattering of clouds, but still plenty of sunshine.

Another big cooldown is in store as we get beyond Hump Day and head into the second half of the work week. First, though, we’ll have a relatively seasonally-appropriate Wednesday, with highs topping out in the upper 50s to around 60° after a low around 40°. There will be a bit more in the way of cloud cover, with a chance for a few showers in the afternoon as low pressure moves northward out of the Bahamas, spreading a little moisture our way. Don’t expect much in the way of any meaningful rainfall, though, if you see any at all.