October was 1.9 degrees warmer than normal, extending the record of warmer than normal months observed at the Central Park weather station to sixteen. For the year as a whole, the first ten months of 2016 are the fourth warmest January-October period since records began in 1869. More warm weather is in our immediate future, but the extended forecast shows hints of somewhat cooler-than-normal weather for the first half of the month.
Today, though, we are in for unseasonably mild weather. A southwest breeze coming off a high pressure system centered to our south and mostly sunny skies will warm us to near 70 degrees. Tomorrow will be even warmer with a high getting close to the mid 70s, but it is going to be cloudy in the morning and rainy in the afternoon as a cold front approaches. Most of us will just see light rain but the air may be unstable enough to produce heavier showers or thunderstorms in some locations.
The cold front will pass in the evening tomorrow, bringing the rain and warm weather to an abrupt end. The temperature looks to hold steady in the lower 50s during the day on Friday as cold air rushes in on a strong northwesterly wind. The wind will die down by the weekend and we can expect mostly clear skies with afternoon highs in the mid 50s and morning lows in the lower 40s for Saturday and marathon Sunday.
