Winter Blast Ahead

Monday is our transition day as a Canadian cold front plows south tossing a few showers into the forecast late in the day (mainly over the North Bay and coastal areas) with the main event being the gusty and cold north winds kicking in for Tuesday morning.Winds will increase behind the front from 15-30 mph and much cooler air will being pouring in. Highs will drop into the 50s from Tuesday and beyond with wind-sheltered valleys seeing the potential for freezing temps for a few hours overnight. A freeze warning for the valleys seems likely as winds begin easing off into Wednesday night and Thursday. At this point freezing temps will linger for awhile until either another weather system scours out the cold/dense air or we see high pressure moderate temps For now the trend appears to be:Tuesday wind chilled, cold day highs in the 50s.Tuesday night some freezing temps in windsheltered valleys but enough wind probably to prevent too many areas from getting too cold yet.Wednesday cooler start and highs mainly in the lower 50s. As winds begin to ease slightly, Thursday morning should see the first round of near freezing temps with Friday and Saturday mornings looking the coldest yet with low to mid 20s in reach for the coldest valleys. Temps should edge just slightly upward into the weekend but with a northerly flow in place no signs of anything close to the 60s and 70s we enjoyed over the holiday weekend. Rob Mayeda