A surprisingly warm 36 degrees on the outbuilding thermometer this morning at 6 a.m. is, I fear, the high temperature for the day.

According to the National Weather Service, the temperature will drop to 21 by 9 a.m. and hang around there for most of the day before heading even further downward in the evening, dropping below 10 degrees by 9 p.m. and then below zero by in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

That drop below zero could set a record for the date and would also signal the first time the thermometer has ventured that cold since 2005 in Floyd County.

Look for a high of 17 on Tuesday and a drop down to about 6 degrees in the evening before the weather warms somewhat on Wednesday, hitting 38 Wednesday, 43 on Thursday and 49 Friday.

Lows will hit 21 overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, then 30 and 37 by week’s end.

A short gasp of winter that probably won’t be the last.