Rinse and repeat all week, mild and cloudy

This week is going to be a rinse and repeat each day when it comes to our local weather it seems, thanks to a stagnant upper level pattern.

An upper level ridge of high pressure is continuing to nudge eastward and will continue to do so throughout the week ahead. This ridging will force the polar jet well north of the central United States, keeping any arctic air trapped well to the north as well.

Because of this upper level pattern, things will remain stagnant across the Midwest through a majority of the coming week. Temperatures will slowly increase as a result.

We will start the week with high temperatures in the low to mid 30F’s Monday and Tuesday. For Christmas, highs will increase into the mid to upper 30F’s for a majority of the area. By the end of this week and the weekend, high temperatures will be in the upper 30F’s to lower 40F’s across southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa.

As we progress toward the end of the week, a few troughs will be tracking across the southern half of the United States. Model guidance is still rather inconsistent on just how much energy from these troughs makes it into our area. The trend, however, is toward less energy, resulting in lower rain chances.

Of course, with how far out these events are, it’s hard to pin point the specifics with much confidence, so just something to keep an eye on for now.

With how far south these troughs will be located, it will be quite difficult for them to tap into any arctic air, and drag it south into the United States. With that said, a gradual cooldown is expected early next week, but it won’t be anything dramatic. Either way, temperatures remain above average through early next week.