Warmth!!!

It's amazing the difference you can have from one day to the next. Yesterday many of us were stuck in the 50's and 60's and today we can expect 80's and up across the board. But just how warm can we expect to get. Well, I am a little concerned about mixing because it just doesn't appear like there will be all that much. To get to the maximum temperatures possible in the atmosphere, you need a certain amount of mixing. Below is a profile picture of a column of the atmosphere. This will show wind speed and temperatures at different levels of the atmosphere.I have the wind barbs circled on the right hand side. Notice that they change direction in the lowest level of the atmosphere. This inhibits mixing and prevents the warm air above the surface from being transported down to the surface. So, if mixing is slowed down a bit today then we may not hit our full potential temperature.

Also, tomorrow's temperatures are in limbo as well because of a cold front slicing through the state tonight. Depending on how far the front travels to the south will greatly effect temperatures in some areas. The picture below shows an image of forecasted temperatures at 7am Tuesday. Notice the wind barbs once again and the fact that the change direction in the southern part of the state (its circled).

That is where the cold front is located. It does retreat north during the day but just how much that will effect temperatures remains somewhat of a mystery.

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz