Cruel weather ahead, but the end is already in sight

To those people who complained about the cloudy weather in December: be careful what you wish for. Now we have plenty of sunshine, but thanks to an invading Arctic airmass, it's still not much fun outside. Mother Nature can be so cruel.

After a faint warm-up tomorrow (we might get above freezing!), a reinforcing chunk of cold air will arrive Wednesday.

This afternoon's forecast discussion from NWS Paducah explains, "THE POTENTIAL WILL BE THERE FOR TEMPERATURES TO DROP CLOSE TO ZERO IF NOT BELOW." However, the discussion notes, "THAT IS REALLY HARD TO BELIEVE WITHOUT SNOW COVER..."

Right now the official forecast for Cape Girardeau calls for the mercury to touch -1°F Wednesday night/Thursday morning, so we shall see.

Thankfully, unlike last year's "polar vortex" encounters, this cold blast should be relatively short lived. By Sunday, we are expected to creep above freezing during the afternoon. The 8-14 Day Outlook then puts us firmly in the "normal" zone for typical January weather next week, with above-average temperatures projected to our west.

What about snow? Despite the cold temperatures, things don't look very promising until Sunday, when a low pressure system could bring precipitation -- snow, sleet, or who-knows-what-else. It's too early to get much excited about this, especially since recent systems have been duds.