Twas the week before Christmas

Hmmmm...where have I heard that title before? Anyway, the warm weather continues at Santa Rosa Beach while the cold stuff stays locked up further north. Today through Thursday the weather will feature sunshine and temperatures in the mid-60s. How does that sound to those tired of sub-zero weather and gloomy overcast skies?

Even the "bad" weather here isn't hard to take. The extended weekend (Friday-Monday) forecast calls for a 20-40% chance of rain with highs creeping into the low 70s. Every day except Monday the prognostication is for at least partly sunny skies for those who are suffering from SAD (seasonal affective disorder), i.e. lack of sunshine. Oh, and have I mentioned lately that the length of daylight here is longer than up north? Sunrise today was at 6:35 a.m. while sunset won't occur until 4:47 p.m. (all times CST). That adds up to over 10 hours of sunshine even this close to the winter solstice which features the shortest day of the year.

And to make matters even better the jet stream is keeping itself well north of Santa Rosa Beach. This upper air graphic shows how far south over the western U.S. that "river of air" dips this coming weekend:

Even northern Mexico will feel the effects of the dip while the Florida Gulf Coast is warmed by southwesterly flow off the Gulf of Mexico waters.

So if you want/crave/need a break from winter plan a trip to Casablanca on 30A. It's more like spring here!!