Good Friday folks! The title of this post pretty much sums it up right now for a couple of reasons. The atmosphere is in a mean mood with everything from a blizzard to a hurricane on the map at the moment. The blog is ready to rock and roll too and we have everything you need wrapped up into one entry.

We have our own weather to deal with on this Friday as a cold front is moving across the state. This front is bringing scattered showers with it and those may actually increase through the day. Here are a couple of radar views for you to track the rains…





As I mentioned… i fully expect the shower to pick up in coverage and intensity the farther east we go across the state. There is just the slightest hint at some instability showing in the east that some folks may hear a rumble of autumn thunder. I am a tad more impressed with the rainfall possibilities today and here is my updated map of the MAXIMUM amounts…



IF we can get the atmosphere to reach it’s full potential today… that would mean some decent totals and boy o boy do we ever need it! Highs for much of the area should stay in the 50s with a low 60 possible in the east before the rains arrive.

While we are watching the radar today… people in the Dakotas are getting smacked by a raging blizzard. One to three feet of snow with winds that have been gusting to as high as 80mph!!! That is hard to imagine and might even be too much for me to take. Well… probably not. Here are a couple of live web cams from near Bismarck…






(Thanks Tim! )





From one extreme to the other… Hurricane Paloma is churning through the Caribbean right now and may very well become a Cat 3 storm before slamming Cuba and heading toward the Bahamas and away from the US. Here is the latest on this powerful storm…



[Image of 5-day forecast of predicted track, and coastal areas under a warning or a watch]





























Our weather pattern is becoming very charged up right now and this active pattern looks to continue into the next few weeks and likely into December! I will be going more in depth on this in the coming days as I foresee a ton of possibilities for an early start to winter around here.

Speaking of winter… MUCH colder air will pour into the state over the weekend. Highs Saturday will have a hard time getting out of the 40s. A mix of sun and clouds early should give way to more in the way of clouds during the afternoon hours and there is a small chance for a shower. Our northwesterly flow will bring a weak system into the region Saturday night and early Sunday. Temps will be running on the cold side with low 30s when you wake up Sunday morning meaning anyone is fair game for a rain or snow shower. The GFS continues to show this…


It’s really not a big deal… but the chance is there! Highs Sunday will be cold with low to mid 40s. I see the NWS in Jackson is picking up on the flake potential as well. They have really stepped up their game of late… kudos to the fine folks there!

After a cold start in the 20s Monday… temps will recover into the high 40s to low 50s with increasing clouds. The chance for a late day shower is with folks across the west as we move into what looks like a VERY wet and rather chilly pattern for the middle and end of next week.

We are likely to see a conveyor belt of moisture setting up from Texas and the western Gulf into the Ohio Valley. I see at least two areas of low pressure that will move in our general direction next week. Here is a map to illustrate my thoughts…



That pattern looks WONDERFUL as it can deliver several days of soaking rains across our part of the world! This active look is likely the transition period into our early start to winter for the eastern half of the country. The signs are all there for this to happen during the second half of November into December and it’s something we first started hinting at in early October.

I don’t think you will have trouble getting in the Christmas and holiday spirit this year!

Okay… that was one heck of a post you guys just got! I told you mother nature isn’t the only one ready to rumble!!!

I will update through the weekend… take care!