So today was nothing. Light snow, barley sticking to the street. All in all, about 1-3 inches fell over the area. If you are interested in more detail, totals are Here
Things will be tame for the next few days but man did it get cold tonight! Winds are whipping in from the northwest and with a clear sky, we get cold. Better than what is missing us to the south. Our friends in DC and the mid atlantic will finally get their snow storm, if you can call it that. Remember last year?
Baltimore 80 inches
Philly 78 inches
DC. 72 inches
Sound familiar? They weren't so "lucky" this year. But this is a bit of a surprise since DC was 70 degrees last week. Get used to these extremes.
Stormy weather is ahead for us. But it doesn't have to be all snow, as will probably be the case this Friday.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Week Ahead
High pressure to the North saves us from any really significant snowfall tonight into tomorrow. Maybe 1-2 inches but the sight of freshly fallen snow will likely bring back bad memories of 70 + inches of snow. Not to worry.
That same high pressure actually will give us a pretty nice week of weather, with temperatures moderating Tuesday through Thursday and plenty of sunshine. Stand in the direct sunlight at this time of year for a few minutes and you will actually start getting hot. Strong sun this time of year. Speaking of which....
Sun is going bonkers
After Thursday, all signs point to a inside track type of storm where the low pressure passes well west of Boston which leads to heavy rain. This looks like it starts the beginning of a return to a stormy pattern into the first week of March. Stay tuned!
That same high pressure actually will give us a pretty nice week of weather, with temperatures moderating Tuesday through Thursday and plenty of sunshine. Stand in the direct sunlight at this time of year for a few minutes and you will actually start getting hot. Strong sun this time of year. Speaking of which....
Sun is going bonkers
After Thursday, all signs point to a inside track type of storm where the low pressure passes well west of Boston which leads to heavy rain. This looks like it starts the beginning of a return to a stormy pattern into the first week of March. Stay tuned!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Winter! Where Have You Gone??
Sun! Warm Temps!! We all must be dreaming. But fear not my friends, we could not be closer to reality. Welcome to 2011's version of winter halftime. These "thaws" are not uncommon, in fact, we usually have one much earlier than mid February. The lack of one this year is the reason for those huge snow piles.
Speaking of those snow piles, expect big melting to continue through today. Temperatures near or above 60 degrees for two straight days will put a big dent in the snow cover but it will not melt everything. That should re enforce the idea of just how much damn snow we had on the ground!
Of course, we know that these thaws do not last. We are entering the "battle zone month" of March, where we can see some pretty extreme temperature and weather swings in just a matter of hours. Many people are asking me if this is it for snowfall for the rest of the winter. I obviously do not know the answer to that but my gut feeling combined with NWS 2 week projections tell me no.
One thing we know about late winter into early spring is that there is a constant tug of war between warm air building in the south and increasing in strength with a stronger sun angle and longer days and retreating cold air which will take a while to moderate and very often does not give way to its warm friend very smoothly.
Where the battle lines are is where you will find storms. In fact, these late winter storms can be very strong. In general, the bigger the difference in air mass temperature, the stronger a storm will be.
In the past few weeks, we have benefited from a blocking high pressure to our north that has kept us cold (except for yesterday and today) but more importantly has kept us out of the path of storms. This will begin to change starting next week and this will mark the beginning of the battle between winter and spring. Want proof? Look at the recent temps in DC and Philly. Near or above 70! Geographically speaking, those two cities are not that far from us but those temperatures are quite warmer than anything we will see for a while. The warm air is making its push.
As for forecasting the rest of winter, your guess is probably as good as mine. One thing we must look at is recent climate. For 6+ weeks, we were in the line of fire of significant winter storms. These storms have not stopped being produced, we have just been shielded from them. I have to think that this will change.
Therefor, I DO expect one more snow storm for our area at some point between next week and mid March. It is very likely that the storm will not be all snow for everyone. Coastal areas usually get mixed or rain in these late season storms. But inland areas can get some heavy wet snow. Again, I have no actual proof of this happening, I am just using my weather logic to make and educated guess!
And besides, you couldn't think that mother nature could just drop 70 inches of snow in 1 month and then leave us high and dry for the rest of winter, do you?
Speaking of those snow piles, expect big melting to continue through today. Temperatures near or above 60 degrees for two straight days will put a big dent in the snow cover but it will not melt everything. That should re enforce the idea of just how much damn snow we had on the ground!
Of course, we know that these thaws do not last. We are entering the "battle zone month" of March, where we can see some pretty extreme temperature and weather swings in just a matter of hours. Many people are asking me if this is it for snowfall for the rest of the winter. I obviously do not know the answer to that but my gut feeling combined with NWS 2 week projections tell me no.
One thing we know about late winter into early spring is that there is a constant tug of war between warm air building in the south and increasing in strength with a stronger sun angle and longer days and retreating cold air which will take a while to moderate and very often does not give way to its warm friend very smoothly.
Where the battle lines are is where you will find storms. In fact, these late winter storms can be very strong. In general, the bigger the difference in air mass temperature, the stronger a storm will be.
In the past few weeks, we have benefited from a blocking high pressure to our north that has kept us cold (except for yesterday and today) but more importantly has kept us out of the path of storms. This will begin to change starting next week and this will mark the beginning of the battle between winter and spring. Want proof? Look at the recent temps in DC and Philly. Near or above 70! Geographically speaking, those two cities are not that far from us but those temperatures are quite warmer than anything we will see for a while. The warm air is making its push.
As for forecasting the rest of winter, your guess is probably as good as mine. One thing we must look at is recent climate. For 6+ weeks, we were in the line of fire of significant winter storms. These storms have not stopped being produced, we have just been shielded from them. I have to think that this will change.
Therefor, I DO expect one more snow storm for our area at some point between next week and mid March. It is very likely that the storm will not be all snow for everyone. Coastal areas usually get mixed or rain in these late season storms. But inland areas can get some heavy wet snow. Again, I have no actual proof of this happening, I am just using my weather logic to make and educated guess!
And besides, you couldn't think that mother nature could just drop 70 inches of snow in 1 month and then leave us high and dry for the rest of winter, do you?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Fun With Graphics!!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Up and Down Week Ahead
So the good news is that we are entering our second week in a row of quiet weather. And a warm up is on the way! Although it is looking much more conservative than previously thought. But our snow pack will continue to melt and smiles will being returning to faces. And, we continue to gain 2-3 min of sunlight per day!!
Some highlights
- Warmest day will be Friday, where we should all be in the 50's. That will feel like 70 to our bodies.
- Coldest day will be on Tuesday when we get another, albeit brief, shot of arctic air. Tuesday night into Wednesday will be cold! But temps moderate each day from there
- I thought next weekend was going to be quite warm, with 60 degrees likely on Saturday but that is not the case anymore. We should still be warmer than normal but n0 60's
- Both jet streams continue to stay separate at least through next week. That means storms keep missing us to the north and to the south and we stay dry!
Some highlights
- Warmest day will be Friday, where we should all be in the 50's. That will feel like 70 to our bodies.
- Coldest day will be on Tuesday when we get another, albeit brief, shot of arctic air. Tuesday night into Wednesday will be cold! But temps moderate each day from there
- I thought next weekend was going to be quite warm, with 60 degrees likely on Saturday but that is not the case anymore. We should still be warmer than normal but n0 60's
- Both jet streams continue to stay separate at least through next week. That means storms keep missing us to the north and to the south and we stay dry!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Greg Rambles
Some thoughts on this cold Wednesday in February.
- Greg officially hates Differential Equations. This is going to be a long semester that requires lots of hard work and patience, two things I generally lack.
- Man it got cold last night! Most of Eastern MA started the day in the mid 30's. By 4pm, we were in the upper teens! Arctic cold fronts get you every time. The wind was quite strong too. Think of it like this, if you have ever opened a sealed container and felt and heard air rush into it, that is what we experienced last night. Cold air literally rushing into our region.
- Potholes suck. Big time. And you all know that there are TONS of them out there right now. I hit one yesterday and it took me out. Some of them are ridiculously big. But honestly there is nothing you can do about them. You really can't fix them until we start getting consistently warmer weather , which is late March early April. Fix them now and they will likely open up again in a few days. Yuck!!!
- Feel free to wave goodbye to our near miss of a storm tomorrow. Currently it is wreaking havoc in the south. Areas like Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee are getting a pretty substantial snow storm. Oklahoma City and Dallas saw significant snowfall for the second time in 1 week. Unusual for them and believe me when I say that these people have no idea how to handle snow. My friend Sarah Brown reports that Memphis has 5 inches of snow and there are accidents everywhere. Don't feel too bad for them though. These same areas will be close to 70 degrees next week.
- While we are on the topic of other places getting snow, Japan is getting a pretty good snowstorm as we speak. Something tells me that they are more efficient at cleaning it up though.
- I was not alive in 1969(in case you were wondering) but on Feb 8-9th, our region was currently getting leveled with what is famously known in New York as Mayor Lindsay's Snowstorm in. Although only 15 inches fell in the city, amazingly 14 people died! I know that forecasting has gotten better since then but judging by Bloomberg's reaction to this past December's snowstorm, New York still hasn't figured out how to deal with snow.
- My cousins better be reading this because I am using this space to talk about San Fransisco weather. And you know what the weather is? Boring. You guys are protected out there right now by strong high pressure. No rain in sight. In fact, that dryness might become a problem down the road. But for now, you will see sun and fun. Maybe not so much fun for the cousin who is pregnant with twins though.
- I intended to work on homework all night. Time spent on homework, 90 min. Time spent blogging and jerking around on the internet, well over 2 hours.
I think I will finish on that note. Stay warm!
- Greg officially hates Differential Equations. This is going to be a long semester that requires lots of hard work and patience, two things I generally lack.
- Man it got cold last night! Most of Eastern MA started the day in the mid 30's. By 4pm, we were in the upper teens! Arctic cold fronts get you every time. The wind was quite strong too. Think of it like this, if you have ever opened a sealed container and felt and heard air rush into it, that is what we experienced last night. Cold air literally rushing into our region.
- Potholes suck. Big time. And you all know that there are TONS of them out there right now. I hit one yesterday and it took me out. Some of them are ridiculously big. But honestly there is nothing you can do about them. You really can't fix them until we start getting consistently warmer weather , which is late March early April. Fix them now and they will likely open up again in a few days. Yuck!!!
- Feel free to wave goodbye to our near miss of a storm tomorrow. Currently it is wreaking havoc in the south. Areas like Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee are getting a pretty substantial snow storm. Oklahoma City and Dallas saw significant snowfall for the second time in 1 week. Unusual for them and believe me when I say that these people have no idea how to handle snow. My friend Sarah Brown reports that Memphis has 5 inches of snow and there are accidents everywhere. Don't feel too bad for them though. These same areas will be close to 70 degrees next week.
- While we are on the topic of other places getting snow, Japan is getting a pretty good snowstorm as we speak. Something tells me that they are more efficient at cleaning it up though.
- I was not alive in 1969(in case you were wondering) but on Feb 8-9th, our region was currently getting leveled with what is famously known in New York as Mayor Lindsay's Snowstorm in. Although only 15 inches fell in the city, amazingly 14 people died! I know that forecasting has gotten better since then but judging by Bloomberg's reaction to this past December's snowstorm, New York still hasn't figured out how to deal with snow.
- My cousins better be reading this because I am using this space to talk about San Fransisco weather. And you know what the weather is? Boring. You guys are protected out there right now by strong high pressure. No rain in sight. In fact, that dryness might become a problem down the road. But for now, you will see sun and fun. Maybe not so much fun for the cousin who is pregnant with twins though.
- I intended to work on homework all night. Time spent on homework, 90 min. Time spent blogging and jerking around on the internet, well over 2 hours.
I think I will finish on that note. Stay warm!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Tomorrow? No Sweat
So for the first time in a long time this winter, two storms will be forming along the east coast and neither one is going to hit us.
Tonight, a storm will hit the water off the coast of North Carolina and slide harmlessly out to sea, several hundred miles south of Nantucket. At the same time, a weak storm will be moving towards us from the Great Lakes. This storm will be little more than a nuisance though but because that big storm will be providing some strong winds from the south to help enhance the little storm. Probably about 2-3 inches over interior MA and maybe 1 inch inside of I95 since surface temps will be close to if not above 32. This will all be over by mid afternoon tomorrow.
Many of you have asked about our MEGA storm on Thursday. Well its off, for us at least. A major pattern change is going to happen (although we might not see much of a difference in New England) and there is going to be some very cold air settling across much of the country, followed by a HUGE warm up. Remember how Dallas had snow and 20 degree temps this week? How about 80 degrees for them next week. Chicago might make it to the mid 50's. DC and Baltimore will get close to 60. This is all next week of course and before that, many of these areas will see a very large storm. Such temperature extremes always create big storms. This will be a big one for the deep south with snow/freezing rain and and ice. A big mess for them coming Thursday.
For us, we are now under the protection of a big High Pressure block. Its a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that this blocking high will push all storms out to sea and away from us. The bad news is that it will also keep us in a "cold bubble" that prevents us from seeing the big warm up that the rest of country sees.
Oh well.
Tonight, a storm will hit the water off the coast of North Carolina and slide harmlessly out to sea, several hundred miles south of Nantucket. At the same time, a weak storm will be moving towards us from the Great Lakes. This storm will be little more than a nuisance though but because that big storm will be providing some strong winds from the south to help enhance the little storm. Probably about 2-3 inches over interior MA and maybe 1 inch inside of I95 since surface temps will be close to if not above 32. This will all be over by mid afternoon tomorrow.
Many of you have asked about our MEGA storm on Thursday. Well its off, for us at least. A major pattern change is going to happen (although we might not see much of a difference in New England) and there is going to be some very cold air settling across much of the country, followed by a HUGE warm up. Remember how Dallas had snow and 20 degree temps this week? How about 80 degrees for them next week. Chicago might make it to the mid 50's. DC and Baltimore will get close to 60. This is all next week of course and before that, many of these areas will see a very large storm. Such temperature extremes always create big storms. This will be a big one for the deep south with snow/freezing rain and and ice. A big mess for them coming Thursday.
For us, we are now under the protection of a big High Pressure block. Its a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that this blocking high will push all storms out to sea and away from us. The bad news is that it will also keep us in a "cold bubble" that prevents us from seeing the big warm up that the rest of country sees.
Oh well.
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