Continental polar winds are keeping morning temps chilly in the region

Well, we did end up getting precipitation in the form of rain over the weekend. Saturday morning and early afternoon were icky and drizzly outside. By the afternoon there wasn't too much rain fall. I only noticed precipitation once on Sunday. That happened in the late morning or early afternoon. It started fast, came down fairly hard, and was done in a short amount of time; maybe 10-20 mins or so. I didn't get a chance to hop online and check out air pressure systems or wind directions. I know we had discussed the reason for the precipitation was due to a low pressure system that was going to be moving in from the SW.

Yesterday was a cold day. Highs reached the 40s, but it was chilly all day due to cold winds coming in from the NW. The wind speed wasn't too fast, probably around 0-10 mph all day, but it made a difference.

Today's forecast calls for a high of around 35F. The current temperature is at 17F and feels like 17F. Humidity is at 74% with a dew point of 8F. Looking at the surface map below we can see high pressure systems located in the center of the states with low pressure systems more towards the edges, almost outlining, the states. With this, we can see cold fronts located in the SE and a stationary front in the west. As we've already discussed this stationary from is due to the Rocky Mountains acting like a barrier. The cold fronts are due to cold, continental polar air coming down into the warm, moist air of the low pressure systems. By comparing the surface map and jet stream map we can see this dipping down into the states more. It's these cold air masses that are responsible for the chilly temperatures we've been having since yesterday.

Again, we can take another look at wind speed and direction with the two maps below to iterate the wind speed and direction that are responsible for our cold temperatures. The surface map below illustrates mostly clear skies with winds coming from the W around 3-7 mph.

Tonight's forecast calls for a low around 16F. Winds will be coming from the NW around 5-10 mph.

Tomorrow is expected to be warmer than today. The forecasted high is 46F. Winds will be shifting to the S. This will be a cause for warming since air coming from this direction will be warm!