Watching the next big system

• Gray & misty New Year’s Day
• Next system moves in Monday
• Cooler temps by late week

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - We’re kicking off the new year with gray and drizzly but mild weather. After some freezing rain and sleet moved through overnight, there are slick spots on some roadways. I expect roads to improve later in the day as temperatures rise to the upper 30s and lower 40s.

Skies will remain mostly cloudy today, with only a few peeks of sunshine possible. We’ll continue to see some drizzly and misty conditions, especially in the morning hours. Areas of patchy fog will redevelop later tonight, lasting into Monday morning.

Monday is when we’re watching our next system. The system itself is a doozy and will have big impacts on parts of the Midwest. Central Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin could see anywhere from a half foot to a foot of snow by Wednesday morning.

The good news: southern Wisconsin is not included in that mess! We’ll find ourselves riding near the warm front, meaning that temperatures should stay pretty mild. Areas to the north of Dane county could see a bit of freezing rain or sleet Monday night, but most of us will just see scattered rain showers Monday evening through Tuesday.

As the system moves out, cooler air will begin to fill in behind it. With a little extra moisture in the atmosphere, we could see some light snow on Wednesday. Temperatures will be much cooler though: we’ll from being near 50° on Tuesday to highs in the mid-20s by Thursday. It does look like the more seasonable temperatures will stick around through the rest of the week.

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