ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – It has been a cool and cloudy Monday to start the week for some of us here in the Big Country. For others, they have been dealing with some light to moderate showers to kick off the week. Expect showers to taper off between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. Monday night.

This has been common for the past several days. The skies have been all gray and gloomy with rain showers, and cooler temperatures staying below average (69°) since Thursday last week.

If you remember, we had a strong cold front move through which dropped temperatures 30° in less than 24 hours and brought some showers to the area. The high last Wednesday, November 8, was 93° and the high that Thursday was 63°.

Since Thursday, the warmest days have been the last two days: Saturday and Sunday’s highs were 65°. Temperatures Monday are not expected to break 60° for a good portion of the Big Country. Come Tuesday, we are expecting the day to get a few degrees warmer with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s.

Tuesday is also expected to mark the start of a gradual warming trend. We’re not talking about a drastic warming trend like we had earlier, but temperatures will be more comfortable as they rise back up to around the mid 70s by Thursday.

Last week, the recent temperature trend was described as a rollercoaster ride over the first two weeks of November. You can see the evidence below with the Abilene Climate Data for this month:

As seen above, we began the month with cool temperatures in the 60s, then all of a sudden, we start to warm up for about a week into the low 90s. Now we are back close to where we began for the month, with another warming pattern set to happen.

I know what you are thinking, does this mean those dreadful 90’s are returning soon? To answer that question, the odds are unfavorable of highs returning to the 90’s.

According to the Weather Prediction Center, the latest frontal forecast shows two frontal systems moving through the area over the next seven days; one not as effective here than the other.

The first map on the left is the surface fronts and pressures forecast valid for 6:00 a.m. this Friday morning, Nov. 17. It shows a ‘weak’ frontal system moving in that might not even hold up by then as the tail end of the front is stationary in our region.

If anything, temperatures may be a couple degrees cooler Saturday with an increase of cloud coverage. There is not looking like much if any rain chances possible with that system.

The second map on the right is the forecast valid for 6:00 a.m. Monday, Nov. 20. You can see this frontal system is expected to be defined or pronounced. The rainfall potential is widespread from the Plains to the Ohio Valley down into the Southeast.

As of now, temperatures next week seem to be cooler than what they will be this week. If the current timing of these forecasts holds true, we could see a cooler Thanksgiving week ahead.

Given how far next Monday is, there is a lot of uncertainty still on what’s to come. Things can change between now and then. BCH meteorologists will monitor both situations over the next few days.

As for this week, enjoy the amazing weather we are about to have as the sun comes back out and temperatures start to rise.