The cold weather should subside by weekend.
Big Idea
- We got some light snow Monday morning
- Clearing today gradually warming by end of the week
- This does not offset the ongoing drought, but will help to moisten the dry grasses
- Further precipitation unlikely this week
- Read more...
Pretty cold now, getting warmer toward this weekend.
Forecast Summary:
A lingering chance of light snow showers will persist this morning to early afternoon, with little or no accumulation. Then skies will become mostly clear tonight through the rest of the week except for some mainly high clouds moving across the area on Thursday – Friday. Temperatures will be unusually cool today and tomorrow, but we will see a gradual warming trend through the rest of the week and into the weekend. Daytime highs will climb from the mid 40s today to the lower 60s by Sunday afternoon. Morning lows will climb from near 20 deg. F tomorrow to the mid 30s by Sunday morning.
Forecast Table:
https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/wxtables/
Navigate on the map to your location and click for a detailed local forecast.
Discussion:
Two back-to-back storm systems moved across Arizona this past weekend, producing a lot of wind and significant cooling. The first system on Saturday tapped into minimal moisture for only some light rain showers. The second one yesterday to today has produced more precipitation with totals (rain and melted snow) mainly between 0.05” to 0.35” for the Prescott area. Some areas experienced a dusting of snow and snow pellets. The precipitation is not enough to offset the ongoing drought conditions we are experiencing, but helps to moisten the dry grasses around town a little.
The low pressure will gradually shift eastward and skies will clear this afternoon and evening. The cold airmass in place will lead to cold temperatures tonight down to near 20F, but then we will see gradual warming over the region for the rest of the week into the weekend as the flow aloft over Arizona becomes more zonal (west to east). A week trough embedded in the zonal flow will move across Arizona on Thursday to Friday, producing a period of mainly high clouds, but precipitation will be unlikely.
C. James
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Curtis N. James, Ph.D.
Professor of Meteorology
Applied Aviation Sciences
Prescott Campus
3700 Willow Creek Road
Prescott, AZ 86301-3720
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Official National Weather Service forecast
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