A New Year, A New Airmass

Tranquil, bright, mild, beautiful....any synonym you use that constitutes a stable pattern can describe our weather. Following a foggy morning, the sun warmed up the air enough to fade out areas of low visibility. Other then that, the weather has been very quiet this week. Even heading into the weekend, the weather continues to be smooth with a gradual warming trend. However, by the weekend, a cold front will be the lead headline and deliver in a new airmass.

Here is the current upper level set up at Jet Stream Level:

The jet is well north of us and it is flowing from west to east without any large troughs or ridges. This type of pattern is called "zonal" and is a very progressive pattern where weather systems an glide across the US fairly easily and quickly. Additionally, since the jet i so far north, there will be no active weather here, plus the coldest air is locked up in Canada.

By the weekend, and into next week, the jet stream will have a much different look to it:

Note how the jet is not as flat anymore. By next week, there will be a large dip, or through, to the east of the Brazos Valley, while a large ridge builds to our west. A jet stream orientation like this is called "meridional". Due to this structure, we will cool down quite a bit, but the core of the coldest air will be to our east. This is good news for the suffering ski resorts of the Northeast, where snow and cold air have been lacking.

Overall, expect New Years Day to be much cooler and windier in comparison to the end of this week. Additionally, the cooler air will stick around early next week with a moderation during the middle of the first week of 2012.