Fair weather through the weekend

With temperatures approaching the low to mid 70's this afternoon (west of Defiance anyway), along with plentiful sunshine, it has been one beautiful day.  The cold front that I was predicting on Tuesday did more "damage" than I thought it would, as brought temperatures tumbling down to the upper 60's yesterday, and the same anticyclone is bringing cooler weather to the area today.  Tonight, temperatures probably will not be as cool as last night, mainly because high and mid level clouds from a weak shortwave crossing the upper Mississippi Valley will keep temperatures from dropping nearly as fast.  Also, veering low level winds from the southeast and weak warm air advection will also be a caveat to lower temperatures.  By tomorrow, plentiful sunshine (possibly some puffy cumulus in the afternoon), upper level ridging and weak return flow, will cause temperatures to jump about 10 degrees from today, with temperatures ranging from the mid 70's near Toledo, to the lower 80's near Antwerp and Fort Wayne.  By Saturday, in response to a major trough entering the west coast, upper level height rises and ridging will allow for warmer 850 millibar temperatures, stronger mixing throughout the low levels, and thus even warmer temperatures.  In fact, I would not be surprised for some areas on Saturday to see temperatures as high as 87 or 88, especially west of Fort Wayne.  Saturday night lows will be much warmer than previous nights, with temperatures dropping only to near 60.  I expect pretty much the same on Sunday, with temperatures easily approaching the 90's under mostly sunny skies.  By Monday and Tuesday, a shortwave will approach from the plains, possibly bringing the chance for showers and thunderstorms, mainly on Tuesday.  Temperatures on both days look to range in the upper 70's and 80's.  In the long-range, there is a lot of discrepancy, but the ECMWF, which has been pretty consistent with its solutions of a ridge over most of the United States, is forecasting a rather strong upper level ridge to form over the Eastern and Central United States, and persist for several days.  It is forecasting 850 millibar temperatures to be in excess of 20 degrees Celsius by next Thursday (it is a week away so a lot can change by then!), which translates to surface temperatures in the 90's, which could mean our first heat wave may be on the way.  We'll just to have to wait and see, but it is a good bet that we see some hot weather in the near future, as the ground is incredibly dry and the pattern is very conducive to warm spells (as we have seen all winter long!).  Enjoy the nice weather!