Happy Monday weather friends! Sunday turned out to be a decent day, although clouds got in the way at the tail end and temperatures dropped as a result. The good news in the near future, is that Monday should turn out to be decent. There is a slight chance of showers in the afternoon, but those should be widely isolated at best. Temperatures will likely jump above 50 in the early afternoon but drop thereafter as a dry cold front passes through. Winds will kick up as well behind the front, by Monday afternoon. This will be the beginning of 24 hours of colder weather, with temperatures Monday night dropping into the low to mid 20's again. The good news is, precipitation should be sparse with plenty of sun, and there's warmer temperatures in our near future. Featured image: 00z NAM model on February 14th, 2011 showing a large ridge over the Eastern half of the country, valid at 84 hours (Thursday morning). 

Tuesday is forecast to be the colder day of the week, with high temperatures in the mid 30's. But the warming trend is on by Wednesday, with high's near 50. Thursday should be a few degrees warmer, with highs in the mid to upper 50's. Finally, Friday is forecast to be the warmest day of the week and the warmest day of the past few months. High temperatures are forecast to reach above 60 degrees in most areas. Safe to say, Spring will be in the air to kick off the weekend. I'm sure everybody is already looking forward to Friday!

Today (Monday): Partly cloudy and warmer in the early afternoon, with high's near 51. Then turning cooler and windier, with temperatures dropping into the 30's and 40's. West winds 10 to 20 miles per hour, gusting near 30 miles per hour.

Tonight (Monday Night): Partly cloudy and windy. Low near 25. West-northwest winds 15 to 25 miles per hour, gusting over 30 miles per hour.

Article by John Homenuk. Written February 14th, 2011 at 1:28am. Looking for a forecast? See New York Metro Weather's Long Range Forecast for the upcoming work wee , or view our Technical Forecast Discussion for the more serious weather enthusiasts. Also, check out our new Forecast Overview tab. For up to the minute details on forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.