Hello Spring, Its Me. Are You Out There?

So my breaking point was at the red sox game this past Saturday night. I knew it was going to be a tough week. Lots of clouds, intermittent rain and a pesky on shore flow that kept our temperatures well below where they should be. But I have a personal rule, I will not attend a red sox game before the 2nd week of May as I do not care to be sitting in an old wooden chair all bundled up drinking my overpriced and under served beer.

So with two games last week, I assumed all off season that I would be in the clear. Not so my friends. Wednesday? I felt like I was watching a haunted baseball game with the consistent cloud of mist that hovered over Fenway all night. It was so shitty out that I wasn't even able to find a last minute person to accompany me to the game. First time that has ever happened. By the time the downpour came in the 7th inning, I was way too drunk and way to close to the field to give up on the game. I stuck it out till the end and saw a great game. Got soaked and felt like a loser going alone but it all worked out in the end.

Saturday, things could not have looked better. It began on Friday afternoon when we finally saw the sun sneak through after 5+ days of cloud cover. Saturday morning started out foggy as hell but once it burned off, the whole region (except for Cape Cod) jumped up t0 70 degrees. Beautiful! But a classic New Enlgand spring time curve ball was coming.

Those few of you that follow my twitter feeds might have seen the tweet i put up on Saturday morning about how everyone should enjoy the warmth but to be careful to not get caught in shorts later on because a cold front was moving through and a big change was in store. I had no idea how right I would be.

We left for the game on Saturday afternoon at 4:45 with the temperature hovering just above 70 degrees, ample sunshine and no wind at all. By the time we got to our seats at 6:50, the temperature had dropped to 52 degrees, the winds had picked up dramatically out of the north east and my good friend the spooky mist cloud had settled over Fenway again. What a joke.

My breaking point came in the top of the 7th. Even my partially obstructed view could not obstruct the bitter cold wind that kept cutting through my thin and probably too tight clothing. Judging by the outcome of the game, that decision may have been the best one of the night.

So I have joined you all. I am not talking anyone off the ledge anymore. I am fed up with this pattern and I crave the springtime weather that we all love before it gets too damn hot and humid.

I wish I could say that I had good news for you all. But after a nice warm up tomorrow (albeit with little to no sunshine) we fall back to our on shore and cloudy flow for the remainder of the week. It will be warmer at least. No more 50 degree days. Unless the rapture actually did happen and our hell suddenly becomes and endless stretch of cloudy 50 degree days. I think that would be called purgatory though.

This Weeks Weather Will Suck

It happens every spring. While most of us are thinking about longer days, warmer temperatures and trips to the beach, your atmosphere is going to give you a blunt reminder that we aren't into summer just yet.

The problem really is that our jet stream has moved wayyyyy to the north of us, keeping us and really most of the country stuck. This Accuweather graphic gives a good visual on the situation.


That upper level low will just sit and spin to our south west, giving us a wind off the 40 degree water all week. Translation, lots of clouds, lots of instability and the sudden urge to wear flannel and drink lattes because it will feel like we are in Seattle. For the record, I drink lattes on a regular basis.

So, no need for the sunglasses this week. We might break out of the pattern come next weekend but that is anyone's guess at this point.

I am glad that I will have a lovely 50 degree gray and wet night for my first red sox game of the season on Wednesday. Speaking of which, I have no one to go with to the game. Any takers? You would have to buy me at least one drink.

Good news ahead though. Look below.

Long range ECMWF model shows a nice warm week and memorial day weekend for us. That's great news for those of you planning bbq's, bachelor parties or cape cod events. Me? I have to work so screw you all. I don't mean it though. Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer so I like the warm forecast.

Just get through this week and I promise you good things soon!

Mississippi Flooding is Getting Serious

By now, I am sure most of you have heard about the dangerous outbreak of tornadoes that happened about two weeks ago in the Alabama/Mississippi/Tennessee area. In actuality, it has been a very active year for tornadoes throughout the middle part of the country.

But an additional and potentially much more devastating consequence of an active storm pattern this spring is the tremendous amount of rainfall that has fallen in the lower Mississippi Valley. All of that rain finds its way to the Mississippi River and that river is ready to burst!


Things are getting serious in a hurry. From the image above, you can see that the likely cresting point for the river is sometime next week. But look at those water levels! They are right at record values.

Flooding certainly isn't as "sexy" as tornadoes, but there is no doubt that this type of flooding will be much more devastating than any tornado outbreak can ever be.