Southerly winds, produced by a combination of high pressure off the Carolina coast and a low pressure trough over Texas, are sending a plume of rain up the Mississippi Valley. Laden with Gulf moisture, this warm flow will keep temperatures near 50 as far north as Chicago. Heavy rain is forecast for Louisiana and Arkansas, with lighter amounts further inland.
The next Pacific storm, now brewing in northern California, will sweep eastward over the next few days, nudging these spring-like conditions to the Atlantic coast and shutting off our balmy flow from the Gulf. Afterall, it is January.
