WARMEST IN WEEKS!

After days and weeks of below normal temperatures, Saturday felt like a heat wave! Perhaps that's an exaggeration, but this was the warmest day many of us in the Upper Midwest have had in several weeks!

Cedar Rapids got to 50° which was the warmest afternoon we've had since November 4th! If you notice in the graphic above.. there are some spots that are a lot colder. That's because there's still snow on the ground in parts of the Midwest.

With the sunshine we could see the snowpack on satellite. There is still plenty of snow on the ground in north and western Iowa into Minnesota and Wisconsin. The snow will likely start to melt over the next few days as warm air stays in place.

In fact, temperatures will likely remain above normal through the end of the month. As Terry mentioned in his last post, this is keeping the chance for a white Christmas pretty slim. In general the pattern is going to be pretty dry and calm. Here's the projected precipitation on the GFS for the next week:

We may not be seeing many more 50° days, but temperatures will be above freezing and above normal for a while. Sunday will be no exception:

At this rate, December may end up warmer than November. November finished with temperatures 5-10 degrees below normal across the Midwest. Most of us are now running 1-3 degrees above normal for December already.

For now, enjoy the "mild" weather. We all know it will get colder eventually.

RK