We survived the near freeze of December 8, 2017! I’m sure plenty of folks dipped to 32 or less, but so far this morning the low at the airport is 36. In national news, my son got snow last night in San Antonio, Texas! Very rare. It also snowed in Houston and into Louisiana and Mississippi. Lucky jerks!Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we are looking for a warming trend into the weekend. Just low 60s today, but low 70s tomorrow. Mid 70s Sunday. Low 70s Monday and Tuesday. Mid 70s Wednesday and Thursday. Enjoy!

Now that’s the definition of rude awakening! Going outside on the deck for a cigar to be met with mid 40 temperatures and wind chills colder than that. I haven’t been that cold in a long time! Now I’m AWAKE! Gusty winds ushering in cold air today. ENE winds gusting to over 30 mph and a high only in the upper 50s. Parkas for sure for us thin blooded southern Arizonans. A RED FLAG WARNING has been issued and is in effect until 4:00 this afternoon so be careful if you are making a fire to stay warm, although I’m thinking your fireplace might be safe. The fun continues tonight as the winds die down and any remaining warmth escapes into space. A FREEZE WARNING has been issued and is in effect from 10:00 tonight until 9:00 tomorrow morning, so be warned, it’s gonna freeze. I would actually let the teenagers sleep inside tonight. Another chilly day tomorrow (mmm chili) with a high near 60, but it won’t feel as cold as today because sans the wind. Warming up this weekend with highs in the low 70s Saturday and mid 70s Sunday. Low 70s Monday. Mid 70s Tuesday and Wednesday.

Pretty much a busted forecast in our favor yesterday. Instead of an expected high of 74 we only managed 63 and we did have some light rain showers in the area. (half the calories of our regular rain) The airport picked up .02″! Hey. Beats a swift kick. The low has moved east and has taken most of the clouds with it. Cool air behind the system is with us and a reinforcing shot of cool air tomorrow will keep us, well, on the cool side for the next several days. Look at those lows! 40 to start the day tomorrow. Mid 30s Friday morning! Upper 30s Saturday morning. Some of the favored cold spots, near washes for example, may see frost or a freeze even. Must be Winter. Warming up into the low 70s Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Enjoy!

Rain chances are back out of the forecast. I’m still holding out a little hope that we may manage some showers since one of the computer models is hanging on to the possibility. The expectation was never more than a tenth of an inch anyway, but still. Even a few drops would be encouraging! A low over southern California is making its way to central Arizona today bringing clouds and a chance of rain for our local mountains by tonight and valley locations mainly to our east. Snow levels 7,000 – 8,000 feet by tomorrow morning, so mountains to the east could see a couple inches of snow above that, but nothing too serious. Once the storm weakens and moves east we will see clearing skies and colder air settling in. Low 60s for the high Thursday! Warming up as we head into the weekend with highs in the upper 60s Friday. Mid 70s Saturday and Sunday. Low 70s Monday. Lows as low as around 40ish Friday and Saturday morning.

Last night’s Super Moon was spectacular! I don’t know if you saw it but at a couple points there was a ring around it thanks to the high clouds. The ice crystals in the high clouds refract the Suns rays being reflected off the Moon to cause the effect. Beautiful!

Meanwhile, we hit 78 again yesterday for the third day in a row. Today we start to cool things down. An upper low off the California coast is feeding us a few high clouds from time to time for possible sunrise and sunset enhancement. Otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 75. A cool front moving through today will continue to knock our temperatures down even as our low approacheth. Increasing clouds tomorrow with a chance for rain showers Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Nothing to get too excited about. Rainfall amounts are expected to remain below a tenth of an inch in valley locations. The low clears Wednesday taking the clouds with it but leaving the cool (average for this time of year) temperatures in the upper 60s Thursday and Friday. Lows near 40 Friday morning and in the upper 30s Saturday morning (also about average for this time of year). High pressure builds back in for a bit of a warm up for the weekend. Highs in the low 70s Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy!