Major temperature swings, but generally quiet weather

Happy Saturday everyone! Temperatures have overperformed today, with highs in the mid 50F’s for all of southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa! While we did not break any records here in Rochester, we certainly came close, with Austin and Mason City reaching 57F!

High, thin cirrostratus clouds continue to drift across the skies this afternoon, and will continue to into tonight, leading to a generally partly cloudy sky. Low temperatures will be right around, or just under 30F for most, making for a mild December night out there.

Sunday will be a similar story to today, but not as warm, and with a few more afternoon clouds. We stay dry though, with any precipitation associated with the frontal system approaching from the west remaining well to the north of our area through Monday. Highs will be well above average for this time of year, in the mid to upper 40F’s for southeastern Minnesota, and low 50F’s for northern Iowa.

A cold front passes through on Monday, bringing gusty winds between 25 and 30 mph through Monday night. Temperatures will dip after topping off in the low 40F’s Monday morning, with lows in the teens Monday night.

By Tuesday, highs only climb into the mid 20F’s, with even colder temperatures arriving by the middle of the week. In fact, overnight lows Wednesday night into Thursday morning could well bottom out around a bitterly cold 0F. What a swing from Monday to Wednesday night!

Clouds will dominate the skies Sunday night through Tuesday night, but any precipitation remains to the north across northern and central Minnesota.

Temperatures look to rebound toward the end of next week and the weekend, similar to this past week, with highs in the 30F’s next Friday, through the following Monday. Certainly some wild temperatures swings ahead!