It's Cold Out!
Jan. 11th, 2024 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerIt has been cold around here the past several days. ...Not as cold as in much of the rest of the country, where there have been snowstorms and ice and freezing weather. On a normal day out here in Silicon Valley in January the temperature still rises into the upper 50s. But lately we've been cooler than that. When I went out to lunch today it was only 48°. Trust me, by local norms that's cold. You feel it when you shop or eat at a small business because many of them don't have heat.
I looked at weather forecasts today hoping to see a break in the cold snap. Nope! There's more cold weather on tap.In fact it's even getting worse for much of the country. Here are two forecast maps (click/tap image for source):
The first map (above) shows the forecast of high temps for Friday. Florida can't complain right now; they're still looking at 70s to low 80s for Friday. Here in Silicon Valley we're looking at highs around 55. That's no Florida but it's also not the northern plains states where high temps may not even break out of negative figures. ...And that's negative degrees Fahrenheit. 0° F = -18° C.
And here's where it gets worse. The cold air mass the map above shows descending from Canada over the northern plains and mountain states will push further down across the middle of the country by Sunday.
This second map is not showing actual temperature but the amount by which high temps will be below normal high temps for this time of the year. Note the dark purple in the Great Plains states... that corresponds to 40° F cooler than normal. By Sunday potentially a lot of the central US will see temps not break above zero even during the heat of the day.
I looked at weather forecasts today hoping to see a break in the cold snap. Nope! There's more cold weather on tap.In fact it's even getting worse for much of the country. Here are two forecast maps (click/tap image for source):
The first map (above) shows the forecast of high temps for Friday. Florida can't complain right now; they're still looking at 70s to low 80s for Friday. Here in Silicon Valley we're looking at highs around 55. That's no Florida but it's also not the northern plains states where high temps may not even break out of negative figures. ...And that's negative degrees Fahrenheit. 0° F = -18° C.
And here's where it gets worse. The cold air mass the map above shows descending from Canada over the northern plains and mountain states will push further down across the middle of the country by Sunday.
This second map is not showing actual temperature but the amount by which high temps will be below normal high temps for this time of the year. Note the dark purple in the Great Plains states... that corresponds to 40° F cooler than normal. By Sunday potentially a lot of the central US will see temps not break above zero even during the heat of the day.
