December is just a week away, and so far we haven't heard much from old man winter. But, just because he's quiet, doesn't mean he isn't up to no good. Rest assured, he's alive and well and ready to pay a personal visit. The long awaited pattern change is on the doorstep, and it's time to pay the piper. THE INITIAL VOLLEY (Punch number 1) By all accounts, Tuesday is your basic late November day. Nothing pretty to be sure, with a solid overcast and scattered showers in the sou

Overall confidence in a weekend winter storm is slowly increasing. One thing I want to stress right now is that, yes, we are talking about it quite a bit but that does not necessarily mean it will be a big impact for you or our area. We know there will be impacts potentially in the region, and given the Thanksgiving holiday travel period it is worth watching for all parties. Above you can see the Weather Prediction Center is currently advertising increasing confidence at Day

Overall prior to Thanksgiving it looks like a somewhat benign pattern still. A weak system late Monday into Tuesday will lead to rain showers across the area, but the weekend is when we continue to watch for potentially more potent issues. Virtually every member of the American GEFS (above), the 20-member ensemble forecast, has a storm somewhere in the Saturday Nov. 29 through Monday Dec. 1 time frame which could have impacts during one of the most traveled days of the year.

The last few Decembers haven't been much to write home about. On the whole, recent ones have been relatively mild and short on snow. Not like the ones I remember as a youngster in the 60s. Back then, even if we didn't have a lot of snow, we at least had cold. Maybe It's just my age, but the good old days seemed just a little bit tougher. One fact that stands out the past decade or so is we rarely see a white Christmas. In the Quad Cities, only 3 of the last 14 Christmas days

I haven't seen the sun all week long, and chances are it won't be with us again Friday. A stagnant weather pattern remains entrenched that's trapping low level moisture, converting it to clouds. I'm seeing signs we should get some breaks for sunshine over the weekend, but Friday brings the need for more mental toughness as we deal with one more dark dreary day, and one that starts with patchy fog and drizzle. Be strong, it's a Friday. If there is one bit of positive news to p