Weekend outlook: A mixed bag

We’ll start off the weekend with clouds and showers as the first of two systems that will affect our weather over the next seven days pushes through. Some rumbles of thunder will be possible as well, but most of what we see will be plain old rain. Patchy fog is also a possibility as we go through the morning hours.

Despite the rain, temperatures are going to be mild, with highs in the middle 50s. As the day goes on, the rain will end, and the skies will clear out for the most part. Eventually, the colder air on the back side of the low will filter into the region, but this is not the type of cold air that we saw a couple of weeks ago. Lows tonight will be in the middle to upper 30s.

Sunday will feature plenty of sunshine, but with the slightly cooler air in place, temperatures will be in the lower to middle 50s in the afternoon. It will be a nice break from the rain of the past couple of days. Sunday night will be cold, but not unseasonable, with lows in the lower to middle 30s.

Thanksgiving week will feature mild temperatures at first, with highs in the middle to upper 50s through the big holiday travel day on Wednesday. The mild air is ahead of a strong low-pressure center which will pass over southern Hudson Bay. Showers will return to the forecast starting on Tuesday as a front will become stationary over the region.

The cold front then swings through on Wednesday, with the main question in the forecast regarding timing. There are large differences between the European and American atmospheric models. The European model has the system moving out on Wednesday night. The American GFS is starting to come around to the same solution as the European model but continues to be a little slower regarding the timing of the storm, leaving some rain and snow in the area early Thursday.

The good news about this active pattern is that we’ll pick up good amounts of rain, which will help to relieve the drought that we’ve been in for several months now.

One thing that’s for sure is that the air will turn much cooler after the cold front swings through. Highs during the last two days of the extended forecast will be in the upper 30s and lower 40s. We’ll be tracking the progress of the low and the timing of the showers for you.