Monday, December 12, 2011

Mild weather and rain chances return to the Mid-South this week

After a period of dry and cool weather (cold in fact), we're undergoing another shift in the upper-level pattern that will bring milder and likely wetter conditions for the next several days.  Luckily, it appears we get to enjoy some of the "warmer" before the "wetter" moves in!

High pressure is shifting to our east, which means the wind is now starting to turn to the south.  Most people familiar with Mid-South weather patterns know that a south wind typically means warmer air and also more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and this will be the case for the next few days.  The additional moisture will result in increased cloud cover, but fortunately rain will hold off until Wednesday night.  Temperatures will warm from the mid 50s today to near 60 Tuesday and possibly near 70 degrees on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning, a frontal system will pass through the region bringing a round of rain and some thunderstorms thanks to increased instability and temperatures in the 60s ahead of the front. Most of the rain should fall from early morning through mid-day Thursday, with a few showers lingering into the afternoon. The front will not have a great deal of cold air behind it and, in fact, will stall just to our south. This will set the stage for additional scattered showers to move across the region on Friday and early Saturday as an upper-level wave moves through on the "southern stream," or jet stream over the southern U.S. A short dry period is likely over the weekend before another chance of rain moves in Monday.

Stay with MemphisWeather.net for the latest forecast and follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds (links below) for any short-term forecast changes.

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For weather information for Memphis and the Mid-South, where and when you need it, visit MemphisWeather.net on the web, m.memphisweather.net on your mobile phone, download our iPhone or Android apps, or visit us on Facebook or Twitter.

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