As Milwaukeeans wake up to a mostly cloudy Christmas morning with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Milwaukee has some cautionary advice for both today and the coming days. According to the latest National Weather Service updates, the current conditions include a humidity at 73% and a very gentle west breeze of 3 mph, making it a typical winter day in Wisconsin -- for now.
The forecast for Christmas day released by the NWS predicts a high near 35 degrees with calm winds turning easterly, however tonight's slight chance of drizzle coupled with patchy fog setting in after 11 pm should have travelers on alert for reduced visibility and slick road conditions, and the temperatures are expected to drop to a low around 33 degrees, east winds taking a restful turn to a calm state.
Moving into Thursday, the chance of drizzle persist mainly after noon, with cloudy skies and a high nearing 41 degrees, whilst southeast winds will pick up slightly, blowing at 5 to 10 mph. Come Thursday night, rain is likely after midnight, and the fog might hang about before then; temperatures will stay just below 40, with equally gentle southeast winds.
The NWS has also issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for parts of east central, south central, and southeast Wisconsin including Marquette, Green Lake, and Fond du Lac among others, the outlook, which addresses concerns from today through the next Tuesday, notes that a Dense Fog Advisory is in place for central and east central Wisconsin due to dense freezing fog this morning that is set to cause low visibility and potentially slick spots on untreated surfaces, so it's imperative that residents heed these warnings and prepare for slower commutes and possible travel interruptions as we head into the latter part of the week.
Looking ahead to the weekend, the weather pattern seems insistent on keeping the umbrellas out with a 40 percent chance of rain on Saturday and temperatures pushing the higher limits of winter's chill at near 50 degrees, and although the chance of rain drops slightly to 30 percent by Sunday night, the lingering moisture and cloudiness could see us into the next week with a similar mix of partly sunny skies and rain chances maintaining their grip on the state’s weather narrative.
