Forecast: A Mild MLK Day Before Cold Air Returns

Enjoy the mild day Monday.

After a wet and mild night, skies have cleared, and we are going to enjoy a nice break from the winter cold of the past couple of weeks. Don’t get too accustomed to the above freezing air; we are going to be cold again for the rest of the week.

I don’t see any bitter cold air this week, but highs will remain below freezing most of the time. Even if we reach the freezing mark for an hour or two in the afternoon south of Boston this week, nearly the entire 24 hours of each day will be below freezing.

A storm will pass well south of New England on Wednesday, and it might come close enough to bring some clouds, a chance of flurries or a period of light snow across the south coast. I’ll take another look at this tomorrow, but I'm thinking there won't be much snow.

Cold and dry weather returns for Thursday and Friday. I still see no major snow in sight. While the upper pattern has brought us significant snow this month, we are continuing with below normal temperatures, and this January could rank as the coldest of the past six years if we continue with the pattern for another 10 days.

Monday: Mostly sunny and breezy, with highs near 40.

Monday night: Clear, with a low around 23. West winds at 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 32. A brisk breeze.

Wednesday: Clouds and sunshine. Some flurries possible south of Boston. Highs near 30.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 30.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 30.

Follow updates from David Epstein on Twitter @growingwisdom.