While we are going into a mild stretch of winter the next few days, we haven't heard the last of winter. I say this after looking at important long range teleconnections which are strongly pointing another 4-6 weeks of below normal temperatures. Lets take a look at the MJO (Madden Julien Oscillation). Below is the EURO forecast which cycles the MJO through what's known as the winter cold phases (8,1,2, and 3). You can see the progression by following the dotted green lines. T

The Midwest is in the process of recovering from a historic outbreak of cold weather. Every reporting station in my area established daily record lows Wednesday and Thursday morning. In Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities, all-time record lows were established. Additionally, here in Cedar Rapids we recorded our lowest wind chill temperature ever at -55 degrees. Another remarkable feature of our weather was the combination of cold and snow that occurred Thursday. Following the 30