7:00 AM | Very mild to start the new week, but it'll turn cooler at mid-week

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, very mild, highs near 80 degrees

Tonight

Mostly clear, mild, lows in the mid 50’s

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, pleasantly warm, mid 70’s

Tuesday Night

Becoming mostly cloudy, some patchy fog possible late, cool, low 50’s

Wednesday

Patchy fog early; otherwise, mostly sunny, cooler, low-to-mid 60’s

Thursday

Mostly cloudy skies, even cooler, chance for showers, near 60

Friday

Partly sunny skies, cool, near 60

Saturday

Partly sunny skies, milder, mid-to-upper 60’s

Discussion

Quite mild weather will begin the new week, but a cooling trend will kick into gear at mid-week for a couple of days as low pressure approaches the west coast.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/cyk8wAvyWzE

7:00 AM | Mild start to the week, but colder air returns by week's end

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, quite breezy, mild, highs in the mid-to-upper 50’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, cold, lows by morning near 30 degrees

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, even milder, low 60's

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, breezy, chilly, mid 30’s

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, mild, low-to-mid 60’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, not as mild, mid-to-upper 40’s

Friday

Partly sunny, colder, maybe some snow, low-to-mid 30's

Saturday

Mostly sunny, cold, mid 30’s

Discussion

Dry weather will dominate during the first half of this week as northwesterly flow aloft persists in the area. Temperatures will be above normal to start the new week, but a strong cold front will bring much colder air back to the region by later this week.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/cyk8wAvyWzE

7:00 AM | Warming trend takes hold later this weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, cooler than yesterday, highs in the mid 40’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, cold, lows by morning near 20 degrees

Saturday

Mostly sunny, chilly, low-to-mid 40’s

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, cold, low 20’s

Sunday

Mostly sunny, milder, low 50’s

Monday

Mostly sunny, mild, mid 50’s

Tuesday

Partly sunny, mild, low-to-mid 50’s

Wednesday

Partly sunny, mild, low 50’s

Discussion

We’ll take a step backwards today in the temperature department, but then another warming trend this weekend will boost high temperatures into the low 50’s by Sunday afternoon and the milder trend should continue through the first half of next week.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/78Z416O3AqA

7:00 AM | Warming trend kicks in this weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Clouds and possible fog early giving way to partial sunshine, cool, highs in the mid 60’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, chilly, lows in the upper 40’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, low 70’s

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, chilly, near 50

Sunday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, near 70

Monday

Partly sunny skies, milder, mid 70’s

Tuesday

Partly sunny, still quite mild, mid 70’s

Wednesday

Partly sunny, mild, low 70’s

Discussion

While today will be on the cool side, a warming trend this weekend will boost high temperatures to 70 or above and the warmer weather will continue through much of the first half of next week.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/78Z416O3AqA

7:00 AM | Warmer weather returns this weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, breezy, seasonably cool, highs in the upper 60’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, chilly, lows in the upper 40’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, seasonably cool, mid-to-upper 60’s

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, chilly, upper 40’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, mild, low 70's

Sunday

Partly sunny skies, mild, near 70

Monday

Partly sunny, quite mild, low-to-mid 70’s

Tuesday

Partly sunny, mild, low 70’s

Discussion

Warmer weather is quite likely this weekend and into the early part of next week as the cold air mass we’ve been dealing with recently modifies. In fact, high temperatures by early next week should be above normal reaching the low or middle 70’s along coastal sections.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/7rFJY3m4N54

7:00 AM | Milder today and then a slight step backwards on Friday before another warming trend early next week

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, milder, highs in the low 50’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, cold, lows by morning in the mid 20’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, chilly, low-to-mid 40’s

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, cold, low 20’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, chilly, low 40’s

Sunday

Mostly sunny, milder, low 50’s

Monday

Partly sunny, mild, low-to-mid 50’s

Tuesday

Partly sunny, mild, low 50's

Discussion

Westerly flow aloft will allow for milder temperatures today, but then there will be a slight downturn on Thursday and Friday before another warming trend develops this weekend. We could actually see a couple of days in a row that feature high temperatures in the 50’s during the early part of next week.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/7rFJY3m4N54

2:00 PM | Coldest temperature ever recorded

Discussion

The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134°F just over a century ago in Death Valley, CA and now newly analyzed NASA satellite data from East Antarctica shows Earth set a new record for coldest temperature ever at -135.8°F. This new record is 50 degrees colder than anything that has ever been seen in Alaska or Siberia. It happened in August 2010 and was nearly matched on July 31st of this year when the temperature dropped to -135.3°F. The previous cold temperature record of -128.6°F, which was measured using a thermometer, had been set in July 1983 at a Russian research station in East Antarctica.

This news concerning the coldest temperature ever recorded has hit the news in recent days since it was presented earlier this week at a scientific conference in California. “It’s more like you’d see on Mars on a nice summer day in the poles” said the scientist presenting the results. He added “I’m confident that these pockets are the coldest places on Earth”.

The discovery was made by analyzing global surface temperature maps using data from remote sensing satellites. Specifically, the Antarctica measurements were made by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on board NASA's Aqua satellite and by Landsat 8, a satellite launched early this year by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. In many respects, satellite observations for temperatures are now preferred over conventional measurements made by thermometers which often have, for example, “urban heat island” effects to deal with when comparisons are made to other time periods in the past. After studying 32 years’ worth of satellite data they found that temperatures had plunged to record lows many times on a high ridge between Dome Argus and Dome Fuji on the East Antarctica Plateau. The report also maintains that the winters of 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2004 showed several temperature minima below -90°C.

Despite the new recorded low temperature, it will not be entered into the Guinness Book of World Records because the temperature was satellite measured. The official record low temperature will continue to be the -128.6°F measured (by thermometer) in July 1983 and, of course, the Death Valley high temperature record was based on a thermometer reading a century ago.

7:00 AM | Westerly flow aloft will allow for moderation in temperatures during the second half of the week

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, cold, highs in the mid-to-upper 30’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, very cold, lows by morning near 20 degrees

Thursday

Mostly sunny, milder, upper 40’s

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, cold, low-to-mid 20’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, cool, mid 40’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, cool, low 40’s

Sunday

Partly sunny, milder, upper 40’s

Monday

Partly sunny, mild, upper 40’s

Discussion

Westerly flow aloft will allow for moderation in temperatures during the second half of the week and high temperatures could reach the low 50's on Thursday. In general, the moderation of temperatures in the southern Rockies during the next few days will be accompanied by dry conditions.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/HkUM-zNYqyE

7:00 AM | A warming trend into the weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, breezy, seasonably cool, highs in the mid-to-upper 60’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, chilly, lows in the upper 40’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, seasonably cool, mid-to-upper 60’s

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, chilly, upper 40’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, seasonably cool, mid-to-upper 60’s

Saturday

Partly sunny skies, mild, near 70

Sunday

Partly sunny, mild, near 70

Monday

Partly sunny, pleasantly mild, low 70’s

Discussion

A slow warming trend will begin at mid-week and temperatures will actually climb to above normal levels by the weekend to go along with dry conditions.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/HkUM-zNYqyE

1:45 PM | Now on to the next storm...weekend coastal threat; an update on the impressive and widespread nationwide cold

Discussion

Snow is winding down across the I-95 corridor from DC-to-NYC and road conditions should improve quite a bit in time for the late afternoon rush hour. Very cold and dry conditions will prevail from tonight through Friday with low temperatures in the teens in many of the northern and western suburbs of the big cities, and single digits cannot be ruled out for lows later this week in some of these locations. By the weekend, our attention will turn to the next storm and this could be a significant storm with copious amounts of moisture. Low pressure will pull out of the south-central part of the country at the end of the week and will likely consolidate into a strong storm along the Northeast US coast. While very cold weather prevails through Friday, a wintry mix along the I-95 corridor is a possibility. Stay tuned on this as there are still several days to go before the event (Saturday-into-Sunday time frame) and I believe that the forecast models will likely trend colder as the event time nears which would lead to a greater chance for snow.

In terms of how cold and snowy we have been across the nation over the past week or so, here are some interesting stats from many different locations with a focus on the western US:

• Nationwide: The nationwide average temperature of 14.8°F early Saturday morning was the 5th coldest reading since 2000. Preliminary readings suggest that the CONUS average temperature for the last 6 days was 20.8°F which is about 14 degrees below normal and the coldest since 1979 (source Ryan Maue at weatherbell.com)

• Chicago, IL: This morning featured the earliest sub-zero temperature (-6 degrees at O'Hare) in 18 years

• Philly Airport: has now received about as much snow in the past three days as in the last two winters combined

• Great Falls, MT: low temperature of -33°F this weekend was their coldest ever recorded so early in the season

• Medford, OR: record low last week of 14°F was their coldest temperature in 15 years

• Pullman, WA: Sunday morning's low of -11 degrees was the city's sixth consecutive daily record low and the earliest it has been that cold in 74 years of recordkeeping

• Denver, CO: Record low of -13°F on Wednesday smashed the old record of -5 degrees set in 2008. Thursday's low of -15°F tied the daily record and then Denver dropped to -13 degrees on Saturday morning, tying another record low

• Caspar, WY: Record low of -22°F on Wednesday smashed the old record of -11 degrees set in 1972

• Bishop, CA: recorded a record low of 8°F on Sunday morning

• Spokane, WA: the high temperature held in the teens last week for the first time since 2011

• Ely, NV: Record low of -17°F on Wednesday crushed the old record of -5 degrees. Record lows were also set on Thursday (-23°F) and Friday morning (-19°F).

More bitter cold is in store for much of the nation during the next couple of weeks.