Strong northwesterly winds are ushering in the coldest air of the season so far with sub-freezing temperatures expected over much of the state Friday night into Saturday morning. Such winds have been noticeably missing this fall season and one of the reasons why temperatures have been so warm for the season to date period. The featured image takes a look into that by plotting wind roses for the 1 September through 14 October period for 2026 (left plot) and the period of record (right plot) over the same period each year. A wind rose is a histogram of wind speed and direction plotted in a polar coordinate. This plot uses a meteorology convention with the bar direction indicating the direction from which the wind is blowing from. A visual comparison between the two plots is very telling with an immediate lack of westerly through northerly winds throughout the 2026 period. Wind from this direction is typically bringing in cooler air, which has been lacking this season. Instead, plenty of southeasterly flow is shown which is typically warmer and more humid.