Wherever you are in the USA, winters go from warm to cold and back again, only to get cold before the end of the season. The pendulum is as sure as the January thaw. Some weeks can be wetter (or snowier), only to be dry and quiet down the road. After enduring the coldest weather in quite some time with two bouts of wintry precipitation in and around Houston, we now slip into an almost spring-like feel with 70s in the forecast.
But what will next week bring? Some long-range computer models forecast cold and snow, while others suggest we stay warm. Our forecasts are only good out to about a week, but suffer significant challenges beyond 7 days due to expediential impacts of seemingly minor perturbations. The proverbial butterfly's flap of a wing could cause a hurricane an ocean away. Well, maybe not, but there are similar subtle actions which can result in vastly different outcomes ... and it seems the best thing to do is reference the pendulum for guidance.
Rest assured, before we slip into the perpetual warmer, wetter months of spring, the pendulum will continue to swing from warm to cold.
-Brooks