The sun is finally set to return

We’re now on day nine with persistent gray skies, so just how much longer will it be before we see the sun? Well, can you handle another day or two? Yep, that’s right. Another 48 hours or so and we might actually get to see the sun again. Not to mention, temperatures could warm into the 40s before the weekend is over. So why have we been so cloudy?

When our weather pattern shifted roughly a week and a half ago to very mild temperatures for the month of January, clouds rolled in.  As they rolled in though, the overall weather pattern over the Northern Hemisphere became very quiet. Because of this, winds at every level of the atmosphere slowed dramatically… especially in the low levels where our cloud cover is located. It takes increased winds, dry air, or a change in airmass to get rid of low-level cloudiness…and unfortunately, none of those have taken place.  Therefore, our cloud cover persists until it does.

Well, there is some hope in the future though as a pattern change and increasing wind speeds are looking more and more likely as we head into this upcoming weekend. Now this pattern shift could come with some cloud cover and light precipitation. It could also come with a drastic change in temperatures, both warmer, then colder. But, without this overall shift, these clouds would be around forever. So even though we may not actually see a whole lot of sunshine this weekend, it should spell the beginning of the end for the persistent gray.