Christmas 'Eve' & Day / 'Earth' & Sky Sanctums

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas - Images

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Near Record Highs Sunday & Monday - Cold Front Late Monday

"This Weekend is to Dawn with a Warm Light"

TODAY THROUGH MONDAY: High pressure of the season continues to provide for an unusually start to celestial winter which begins today, 12/21 at 12:11PM EDT as the earths most southern possible latitude will be aligned with the sun along the Tropic of Capricorn. Inland temperatures into the low-mid 80Fs which immediate beach-sides around 79F- 82F. No rain and mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies at times with plenty of sunshine. Predawn satellite imagery shows virtually cloud free skies except a few clouds North Florida.

A strong storm system is taking shape today through tomorrow to impact parts of Eastern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama with severe storms with strong straight line winds and possible tornadoes. A broader expanse to the north with heavier rain (ice storm in progress in Oklahoma right now). This system will enter North Florida and into Central Florida as we progress into Monday late. This system could affect the Panhandle toward other parts of North Florida north of I4 mainly in regard to 'stronger' weather.

MONDAY: Wind SSW-S at 15mph and very warm, again, near possible record high temperatures (and again near record overnight warm minimums near the beaches) especially near the east coast in the absence of the sea breeze in the early to mid afternoon. Possible showers and thunderstorms late Monday Central to South Florida after 3pm through early-mid evening, but this has wavered back and forth from none to some with each model run.

MONDAY/ TUESDAY/December 23rd -24th: The front is expected to pass across Central Florida between late afternoon through 2AM from north to south and could be across Central direct in the 10pm to 1AM time frame. There is expected to be some post-frontal cloud cover and rains mainly along and north of I4 which could extend into the areas further south as the upper level support for such conditions will be pulling out to the east and northeast during the day. 

"The front is expected to pass across Central Florida between late afternoon through 2AM from north to south and could be across Central direct in the 10pm to 1AM time frame. "

Christmas Eve Day should or could start out mostly cloudy but with rapid clearing during the early through mid afternoon from north to south as the secondary moisture band associated with the lagging mid level trough (the front aloft) glides south. Winds becoming northerly and breeze Christmas Eve day through evening but nothing terribly unusual. Overnight lows at the Coast Christmas Eve from the Cape and south will remain in the lower 60Fs but much cooler toward the west side of the state and interior as well as North Florida. This has been the pattern since 'cold spells began' for meteorological winter (December 1st) this year, and that story has not changed nor does it appear will change for some time to come. The short of it is, apparently conditions will be marvelous cloud and temperature wise by and before Sunset for folks north of a Vero Beach to Sarasota line, though wind might be a small issue. 

CHRISTMAS DAY: ENE winds with highs in the mid-upper 60Fs; could be quite a bit of Atlantic stratocumulus clouds developing which might make it feel a bit cooler. Winds will be calming down slowly during the day and into the next though, from the ENE-east.

"A Lone Palm stands Tall against falling Darkness
 in the Light of a New Day" 

BEYOND/2014: Possible turbulent times ahead. The front will lay low near the Florida Straits and make an attempt to work back north (South Florida to South Central in such case might see more rain), but the bigger concern is the time frame from late December 30th through January 3rd 2014. This is too far out in time for model accuracy, though for example and in general 3 out of 4 daily GFS model runs have shown this time frame to be a sticky one for several days now. Possible low forming over the warmer Loop Current waters of the eastern Gulf to move across North Florida. Details should follow in this regard in forthcoming updates and as such,  will become evident by what is announced on local TV and radio networks after Christmas as we head to the New Year time frame. 

Much Cooler Monday & Wednesday, Warm Up into Christmas Eve ?

On this date in 2010, beachside bird baths froze over 

29F in Cape Canaveral and colder elsewhere 12/14/2010

THIS WEEKEND: Warm with periods of clouds. The extent of how warm it will be as winds become more southerly to southwest will be contingent upon cloud cover. Currently it is a bit cloudy in this location but suspect with some heating the morning inversion will break and make way for partly cloudy skies which then might cloud right back up again with more heating. High clouds are not far away either, so either way suspect the north half of the state will see more clouds than not at some level whereas South Florida appears will be   partly cloudy all day while North Florida will be cloudy to mostly cloudy and a bit cooler as a result.  

Sunday will again be warm mainly South 1/2 of state as a frontal boundary will be gliding southward during the day, to be located close to a  Palm Bay/Sarasota line by 1pm. Cloud cover to accompany the front and maybe some sprinkles with better chances of rain north of I-4 and again in the afternoon south of Palm Bay toward the east side of the state toward West Palm Beach area or further south yet still. Winds becoming west to NW behind the front. According to the latest guidance the drier air doesn't really start to move in until near sunset and then phases in gradually under NW-NNW winds, but mostly so after 1AM Monday morning though we will definitely feel it within an hour or so after dark. 

It is at that time (1AM to sunrise) temperatures will be most notably very cool to almost cold as far south as Punta Gorda and through Central Florida except east of US1 and more so along the A1A strip from Cape Canaveral and south. Regardless, it will be a very cool to an early day cold one relatively speaking for a start, but remain cool all day with highs remaining in the mid-upper 60Fs (colder north) and lower 70Fs South. 

Quick swing around to easterly winds overnight into Tuesday will make for a warmer day but another impulse in the mid levels will give cause to swing the winds back to NNW-N and make for some more cool to coolish mornings through Friday with afternoon highs in the upper 60Fs but gradually warming with time by the weekend and into early next week as winds become more southerly with time (Christmas is coming).

The bigger question next is what will occur Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Day. The model guidance is varied vastly in this regard from very cold (the coldest of the year so far) to 'not so fast buddy'...latest run shows 'nothing unusual' but a bit of a cool down. Point being, too soon to say for certain but timing would be about right for a frontal passage based on the latest rhythm of the atmospheric wave frequency that has been in place for about 2 weeks now. 

Things change, and The Conductor seems to still be deciding which Opus Movement to select for a Welcoming Song to Christmas Day.

Yesterday morning around the same time as 3 years ago.

Sky Sanctum's Images of Crescendo and Legato