Time to break the shorts out? Temperatures to rebound this weekend
It may only get up into the mid-30s, but it will feel like sunny and 75 for those who have been trapped in the polar vortex the past few days around Wisconsin.
National Weather Service offices in Ashwaubenon and Sullivan are forecasting temperatures to reach the mid-30s by Saturday afternoon and even a balmy 40 degrees by Sunday in most parts of the state.
If you were counting, that will be a nearly 70-degree swing from the frigid 25 below many felt Wednesday and Thursday.
Why such a sudden change in temperature over the three-day stretch, you ask? Well it's Wisconsin, what did you expect?
Scott Cultice, a meteorological technician with the Weather Service in Ashwaubenon, said the cold air that came down to the Midwest from up north will be moving off east very quickly the next two days. On top of this, warm pacific air from out west will begin to push its way into Wisconsin.
"The pattern will just sort of flip-flop very quickly," Cultice said. "A surge of very warm pacific air is moving in and the cold air that came in from very far up north will move out as high pressure builds in the Midwest."
Today's temperatures, Cultice said, are 25 to 30 degrees below normal. On Sunday, temperatures will be 20 to 25 degrees degrees above normal.
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Cultice said this kind of temperature fluctuation is pretty rare, but it does happen from time to time.
"When we had this kind of surge from the polar regions back in 2014, we had the same rebound three or four days out," he said. "It has happened before, but it has been quite a while."
As we look ahead into the weekend and beyond, the Weather Service is predicting temperatures to hang around or above their average. Rain may also be a possibility at times, which could make the roads slippery once again.
"If it does rain or drizzle — whatever the precipitation is — with the roads being so cold we might see some icing, most likely on Saturday," Cultice said.
Although many around the state may be thrilled to hear about temperatures in the 30s and even 40s this weekend, you may want to wait a while before bringing the shorts back out.