Cloudy | North Dakota Weather

Good morning! I'm Aaron Jolly. And welcome to the North Dakota Weather Podcast — it's Thursday, February 26th. Step outside right now and that 20 degrees under gray skies feels like winter's still got you pinned. But here's the twist.. Today pulls off a disappearing act. That cloud deck cracks open as warm Pacific air floods in. Central North Dakota? You're hitting 51 degrees this afternoon. That's 15 degrees warmer than normal for late February. Eastern areas climb to 40. Up north you'll see 45. Westerly winds gust to 24 miles an hour, so you'll feel that shove. Tonight stays surprisingly mild. Lows only drop to 30 degrees statewide under partly cloudy skies. Not bad at all. Friday's when the script flips. A cold front knifes down from the north. Highs still reach 38 in the east and central areas, 33 up north. But the winds? They crank up hard. Sustained at 15 to 25 miles an hour with gusts hitting 38. That's enough to rattle loose siding. Friday night the floor drops out. Eastern areas plunge to 5 degrees. Central North Dakota falls to 11. Up north? Just 4 degrees. Central areas might see a dusting of snow overnight. Saturday is the coldest punch of this stretch. Highs only reach 11 to 18 degrees. Saturday night eastern areas hit 3 below zero. Sunday starts the slow climb back with highs in the low to mid 20s. Then next week turns friendly. Monday warms into the upper 30s to mid 40s. Tuesday and Wednesday hold in the low to mid 40s with plenty of sunshine. We're gaining over three minutes of daylight today. The spring equinox sits just three weeks out. Today's your window. Get outside and soak in that 51. Tomorrow's winds will remind you winter's not done throwing punches. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.