WEEK OF WARMER TEMPS EXPECTED
Friday, February 11th, 2011 -- 10:35 AM
The winds of change are going to be sweeping over Wisconsin today and through the weekend. Gone will be the sub-zero temperatures. Highs are expected to climb through the mid to upper 30s for the next week."That pool of arctic air is starting to budge east," explains Dave Schmidt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in La Crosse. "We have a warm front that is currently working into the area from Minnesota. That will be moving over the area over the weekend."
Through much of the winter, we?ve been stuck in ?northwest flow? allowing cold, Canadian air to dominate the weather. Temperatures have responded accordingly, with the bulk of December, January and the first 10 days of February seeing below normal temperatures.
Now, temperatures will climb into the 30s for daytime highs this weekend and stay there through the coming week.
So, is the worst behind us?
"Well, we'll see about that," Schmidt says. "We may get some cold spells yet, but overall, we should be over the hump."
With the warming temperatures, look for a gradual melt of the snow pack, which in turn will cause a rise in river levels. At this time it is too early to say how much snow will melt and the resultant rise in rivers, due to uncertainty on how cold it can get at night. In addition, the ice present on rivers will make it difficult to determine the exact rise at any one location.
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