We should end the week on a pretty docile note before the weekend brings a return of some wintry weather. Partly cloudy skies on Friday should accompany a high temperature in the upper 30s. On Saturday, the first of a couple of weak to moderate winter storms moves into the region, bringing a chance of snow to our region, but at this time it appears that most of this first system will split to the south. Late Sunday, another storm drops down from the northwest which will increase the chance of snow, although at this point the moisture is somewhat limited, and it is not expected to be a major storm. Temperatures slowly climb from the upper 30s over the weekend to the mid-40s by Wednesday, at which time the skies should clear out.

Yesterday, we talked about the Madden-Jillian Oscillation (MOJO for short), a travelling wave pattern that crosses the tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean. When the MOJO gets active, it tends to enhance convective (thunderstorm) activity at the bottom of the wave. This throws a lot of water vapor into the atmosphere, as well as spins up a stronger sub-tropical jet, which transports all that water straight at our coast and into our mountains.