'Roll Your Windows Down and Cruise' Kind of Day - February 14, 2018

Temperature: 40°F

Dew Point: 30°F

Wind: S 9 mph

Clouds: Clear

It's 40° in Wisconsin. That means shorts, windows down, and ditching the winter coats. But mother nature is only teasing us Wisconsinites. This is all happening because the polar vortex has split. "In short, there are now two smaller vortices: one over western Canada and another over Europe. Across the Arctic, where the polar vortex typically stays locked, the stratosphere has warmed. This typically kicks into motion a polar vortex disruption like we are seeing" (weather.com). 

Figure 1. Polar vortex spit (weather.com).

What does this mean for the US? Warmer temperatures could be making their way in. That could be above normal temperatures for Wisconsin. 

Figure 2. Heat map.

However, based on the concept that Low (L) pressure areas want to intrude on High (H) pressure areas, the warm weather will be brief. In a few days times, there should be a L pressure front moving to the south bringing, once again, the continental polar temperatures.